Swan
by octopii
Summary: Ituko sighed as she straightened from the doorframe, crossing her arms under her full breasts, "Beauty is a woman's natural weapon. Which yours," She flicked a hand at Sae, "is now littered all over the floor. Shame I walked in at all." Sequel / MadaraxOC
1. Chapter 1

Continuation of _Sparrow_.  
Read that first, obviously. (:

Short intro, but I have had trouble writing these past few days. Curse visiting little kids and their obnoxious uproar. -.-

Enjoy!

* * *

Saezuri touched her short, chin length hair as she stared in the mirror, pondering. Long lengths of her blonde strands littered the floor around her heeled boots, having previously hung to her elbows in a lush curtain; she _hated_ having long hair. She looked too much like her late mother to be comfortable, and she hated all the care such a thing took.

"Really now, why would you go and do that just when you're going back with Uchiha-sama today?" Ituko leaned in the doorway, her kimono parted and revealing as usual. Sae wasn't even phased by it anymore, after seeing her every day for the past three months.

"Should it matter?" Sae asked dully, looking at the older woman through the mirror. Even in her mid-thirties Ituko was gorgeous, her angular features dark, and raven hair always in elaborate styles. Saezuri felt immeasurably plain next to her, though she knew it was not so. Reaching back to tie her customary red scarf around her neck, the trailing, luxurious fabric mingled with her ankles-- a blatant challenge to opponents. _Catch me if you can_.

"I seem to have taught you nothing." Ituko sighed as she straightened from the doorframe, crossing her arms under her full breasts, "Beauty is a woman's natural weapon. Which yours," She flicked a hand at Sae, "is now littered all over the floor. Shame I walked in at all." Ituko frowned when Sae scoffed as she brushed her white clothing off. Long ago had her tan outfit been scrapped, replaced with the thigh length, red accented dress she wore now, made of thick, heavy fabric.

"Are you calling me ugly?" Sae asked wryly as she breezed out into the hall, scarf fluttering. Ituko snagged it with a quick hand, hauling on Sae's skinny neck with a flex of her arm.

"I'm calling you foolish." Ituko smirked as Sae relented, backtracking to ease the pressure off her neck.

"Besides, what do I need a 'weapon' for against Madara? We're not enemies." Sae slipped a long finger under her scarf, loosening the fabric's clench as Ituko let it flutter from her hand.

"To seduce him, of course. Get your wild way. Haven't you any sense of adventure?" Ituko waved a flippant hand as she passed Sae down the hallway, predicting the snort she received.

"If that's a sense of adventure, I don't want one." Sae followed after the older woman, features lighting up when she felt the small pulse of chakra that signified Madara's arrival. Veering off from Ituko's path, Sae shortcutted through the servant's quarters, out into the lavish atrium of Ituko's base. Madara's dark eyes instantly found her, slimming when they took in her shortened hair.

"Is the scarf necessary?" He forwent commenting on it, instead taking in the extravagant material tied around her neck. He had seen the new dress many times, Sae having ferried between him and Ituko for a span of months at a time in the last two years. But the scarf was certainly new, and foolish.

"Of course." Sae easily ignored his disdain as she strode further into the room. She would be sorry to leave, knowing the capitol like the back of her hand; this time she would not be coming back, leaving the Grass Country indefinitely unless Madara's business brought them through.

"The dues." Ituko appeared with a suitcase in hand, one that Sae knew was loaded with money. She easily hefted it from Ituko, surprised when the shorter woman got into her face. "I want to hear nothing of you dying," She poked Saezuri's chest harshly, black eyes slimming dangerously, "or so help me, you'll regret it." She stayed stone hard as Sae tittered nervously, uncomfortable with her intense proximity.

"I'll be fine." Sae reassured as she took several large steps backwards, clasping the suitcase handle with both hands in front. Ituko harrumphed as she took her pipe from her inner kimono, lighting it as she watched her young charge depart with Madara. Blowing out a curling tendril of smoke, she smirked as Sae twisted to give a farewell wave, raising a lofty hand as she watched the last trail of Sae's red scarf flick out the door.

Ituko would miss the quiet, witty woman, that was for sure.

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Thoughts? Happy with the progress? Want to punch the author in the face for her idiocy?


	2. Chapter 2

I haven't had much time, exams have started. ;-;  
Not to mention the family is being very unfair to me recently. Sigh.

I've also drawn *wiiiiinnnceee* what Sae's outfit has changed to. It came out more flashy than in mind, and I am in no means a computer artist, but, well, you get the general idea from it.

http : / / i150 . photobucket . com /albums /s83 /jessicalol_2007 /Saezuri21 . gif

Remove the spaces and such, of course. ^

SerbiaTakesCntrl- Long hair doesn't agree with Sae. :b

jennyz- Exactly. XD And I don't think of Madara as one to fall for that kind of thing at all.

bittersweetties- I have it planned out, not to worry. (:

Hidden in Sunlight- Ituko is from more of the beginning of Sparrow, the one Madara uplifted into leading crime boss back in Grass's capitol. If you remember that far back. XD

malandiva- Eheh, thanks. Madara comes as easy to write to me now. :b

-PENUCHI-- Yes! Sequel! *throws confetti*

kitten652- Thank you~!

Zuckaiy- This nows line up with when Naruto was first struggling to become a genin. The veryyy start of the series. (:

SAYAMO- Yes, Sae definitely will be fleshing out even more. She's not so passive anymore.

Bad language, ahoy!

* * *

"Ne, can you summon one of your cats for me?" Sae asked as she crouched before Madara, her arms wrapped around her abdomen comfortably as she watched him glance up from the files he was riffling through. Cross-legged on the floor of their inn room, he struck a bored position at the mundane task he was working on.

"If you wish." He raised an eyebrow, slashing his thumb with a flick of a kunai. Madara formed the handseals as he went back to reading, a puff of smoke obscuring his hand as he touched the floor. Sae blinked curiously when a small black kitten came tumbling out of the smoke, a large cutesy bow tied around its neck that had the Uchiha crest was decorated on. Not even giving a glance to the tiny cat, Madara shuffled to the next file, Sae catching sight of a ninja registration picture on the sheaf of paper.

"Why the fuck did you summon me, you old hag?" The kitten scalded Madara, tiny, sharp teeth flashing. Sae's brows shot to her hairline at the cat's brusque nature, restraining a chortle when Madara said nothing, flipping the kitten off its feet with a swat of his hand as he kept his eyes glued to the papers in front of him. With a ferocious, high-pitched growl, the tiny creature righted itself with a arrogant fluff of his tail, fur standing on end.

"It was me that wanted you." Sae tapped the floor with her index and middle finger, drawing the cat's immediate attention.

"Who the hell is this bitch?" Jaunty, the kitten looked her crouched form up and down, green eyes sharp. Saezuri squinted in irk, refraining from following Madara's example and swatting him again.

"My name," Sae picked the kitten up by the knotted bow, fingers mingling with the fur on the scruff of his neck, "is Saezuri. And I need some information from you, if you'd be so kind as to oblige." Channeling Ituko, Sae narrowed her eyes, watching the kitten's large ears lay flat against his head as he bared his teeth at her. Raking out with sharp claws, the kitten was disappointed when she arched her wrist away, denying him flesh to mangle.

"Alright, alright, lady. Put me down!" His hind legs kicked wildly, Saezuri smirking darkly as she flicked her hand open, letting the tiny cat fall the two feet to the floor. With a delicate thud the kitten landed on all fours, giving an evil look to Sae. "I'm Pii, as he failed to mention." The kitten raked an ornery paw over his head, flattening his ruffled fur.

"Pii, eh? Well tell me, how do I get on your summoning contract?" Sae settled further onto her knees, aware of how Madara's eyes flicked up to rest on her, finally learning her intentions.

"Why the fuck would you want to sign with us? Are you an idiot?" Pii's left ear fell flat, his green gaze frank on her. His black fur ruffled as he ducked to avoid Madara's hand, the Uchiha lashing out at the tiny cat.

"Watch it, Pii." He warned darkly, going back to skimming the stack of shinobi files in front of him. Sae blinked rapidly as Pii twitched his whiskers, tiny claws flexing into the wood floor.

"I'll bring out my father, then. He isn't going to be happy, you shit." The kitten eyed Sae as he stood to his miniscule height. A larger _boof_ of smoke filled her attention, a big, tattered orange tabby cat appearing.

"Pii?" Grizzled, the cat cocked his head at his young offspring, before his sharp attention settled on Saezuri.

"I'd like to get on your summoning contract." Sae immediately forwent any introductions, the weathered cat growling deep in his throat.

"Absolutely not." His piercing green eyes swung to Madara, slitted pupils contracting, "Did you put her up to this, you worthless-" The orange tabby hissed when Madara raised a blazing sharingan, ears flattening against his head. With one last withering look at Sae, he crouched and de-summoned himself, Pii following shortly after with a sharply amused glance. At a loss, Saezuri let her hands flop into her lap, not quite sure what had just happened.

"Uchiha cats are not very friendly creatures." Madara chuckled darkly as he set aside the file in hand, laughing eyes observing Sae's dejected slouch.

"So I noticed." She frowned, eyes flying wide when Madara shifted with one fluid movement, a hand flying out and hooking around her throat as he swept her down to the floor roughly. Slightly winded, Sae inhaled sharply as he hovered over her, long inky strands of his hair pooling onto her chest.

"It's not wise to trifle with my associates so lightly." His free hand fisted in her freshly cut hair, the short strands like liquid silk between his fingers. Madara easily slipped the scarf from around her neck, tracing the revealed silky scar that threaded its way across her skin. How it irked him that even after being away from him for several months, Saezuri never regressed into the mindlessly obedient girl he had swept away from that whore house two years ago. She kept her easy familiarity, never afraid to stray from his side and get her nose burned.

"I-" She whispered, stunned. Dark doe eyes connected with Madara's churning sharingan, and for a moment he was reminded of the girl he had first met; blindly innocent, always polite to a fault. Her shortened hair only added to that childish image, his eyes narrowing at the notion.

"It's how you always find yourself in such deep trouble." His hand twisted, pulling against her dusty blonde strands harshly, "You assume that they're blindly devoted to me, when that's not the case at all. They clamor to chip at any chink in my armor, finding that in _you_. Weak, trusting little Saezuri." His face hovered inches from her own, eyes bright and mad as he studied her expression. Sae fought to wrap her mind around his words, their deep velvet echos resounding in her head. She could see now, how others came with the notion of Madara's insanity; he was too abstract, too alien, too intense. Saezuri couldn't trace his mental workings, her lips parting as she tried to decipher whether he was being malicious or merely issuing a warning. With an impulsive decision Sae closed the small distance between them, Madara's lips unresponsive as she hooked her arms around his neck, ignoring the nearly eye-watering pain he was wrecking on her scalp in favor of soft caresses, cupping his jawline with both hands as she strained her abs to keep her back arched off the wooden floor.

"I'm not so weak anymore." She whispered fleetingly, thumbs tracing delicate circles on his chin, "You've made sure of that to all extents. I can hold my own now." She trailed butterfly kisses up to his earlobe, brushing the bridge of her nose under the harsh line of his jaw. A large flutter of relief lifted her stomach as the deathgrip on her hair relaxed, his large hand skimming through the rest of her locks, before trailing down to settle in the small of her back, Sae's balance no longer precariously teetering.

"You have to watch your steps. Things are about to escalate into something barely handable for you." His silken voice purred into her ear, sharingan narrowed as he took in the confident flicker in her features.

"I can do it. Promise." She murmured, surprised when he hauled the both of them to their feet in one graceful movement. Setting her on unsteady feet, Madara collected his stack of files from the floor as Sae threaded a cautious hand over her scalp, the skin tender under her touch. "What were those?" She flicked a hand at the pile of manilla folders in his grip, stress leaking out of her face when Madara's irises faded back to onyx.

"Rouge shinobi's files. I need a replacement for one of my subordinate's partners." He let the stack fall to the desk with a heavy thud, Sae reading the subtle irk in his face.

"Replacement? What happened?" She stooped to grab her trailing red scarf from the floor, tying it around her neck once more and obscuring her scar from view.

"Kakuzu doesn't take kindly to others telling him what to pursue." Madara snorted delicately, his arms crossing as he regarded the stack of shinobi profiles. Not one had been even a plausible match to give to the irritable man. Kakuzu took orders readily enough from Pein, but not from those he deemed 'under' him. "Which, speaking of, we'll be delivering that suitcase to." Madara jerked his head towards the case of money set against the wall by the door out of their room. Sae blinked in understanding as she settled on the bedside. She was slowly getting reacquainted with traveling with Madara, switching over from her familiarity of Ituko's sharp wit. Comfortable with the Uchiha, she much preferred him over the arrogant crime boss Ituko liked to personify, even though she would miss the woman.

* * *

Thoughts?


	3. Chapter 3

I've decided to only respond to reviews asking a question or confusion here, to cut down on author note length. If you would like to be PMed instead, I can do that also. ;D  
I just feel that these AN's take up too much space and are dull, haha.  
All reviews are read and appreciated and loved!  
You guys honestly are my driving force. ^-^

Ithilien1234- Saezuri is a variant on Saezuru, the japanese word for chirp and/or twitter. A nod to the story name, in effect. (:

bittersweetties- My, you're sharp~  
Hidan does show briefly, but don't be disappointed. Both him and Kakuzu will be showing in future chapters. Not for a long while, but they'll appear.

jennyz- She won't meet every single one of the Akatsuki, since that's a bit unrealistic, but she'll definitely have a role in the organization. :b  
Deidara especially, what with him being partnered with Tobi in the future and all~

I do so enjoy writing drunkenness. The mental image tickles me pink.  
Enjoy!

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"Madara?" Sae tipped her head as she called to the Uchiha, watching him pause in the street and turn to glance at her stalled figure. She raised a thin finger, pointing to the bar on her left with a wry grin, "Can we?"

"I suppose." He arched his brows as he followed her into the dark business, Saezuri's hair glowing dimly under the faded yellow lighting. She sat down with a flourish in the booth she chose, settling her elbows on the table as she laced her fingers and rested her chin on them. Madara placed the suitcase of money beside him as he slid into the opposite side.

"I've yet to challenge you to a drinking contest." She smiled slyly, eyes lighting when Madara's features quirked into a playfully devious expression. He leaned in, purposefully copying her posture,

"Last time you were even buzzed, I recall you walking out of the bathroom without a scrap of clothing on. You think you can win?" The corner of his lip quirked as he remembered, watching Sae's eye twitch delicately.

"It wasn't me, technically. So that doesn't count." She blinked owlishly, distracted as she threw an arm in the air as the waitress passed nearby. "Two sake bottles, please!" Sae flashed her fingers, the waitress nodding as she was setting down another table's drinks.

"Kiri aside, I also recall you tripping into that vegetable stand in the Lightning Country nearly a year ago." Madara's eye shined with amusement as he watched Sae huff, as she flopped back into her seat and crossed her arms.

"You also _don't_ recall all the times Ituko dragged me out drinking. We practically had nightly betting circles around us." Sae grinned as the waitress set down their sake, quickly bustling away as the bartender called for her angrily.

"Somehow I doubt that." Madara said as he raised his cup with a flourish, toasting her lightly before taking his first drink. Saezuri poured her own and threw it back, determined to at least keep up with the Uchiha.

"Oh? Would you like me to demonstrate?" Sae cocked a brow as she poured herself some more, aware of Madara's dubious expression. Her lips quirked briefly before she slammed her hands on the table quite loudly, rising halfway off her bench seat. "Who do you think you are?!" Flinging a hand in Madara's face, he had to admit that she was a talented actress, her eyes glinting as she stared him down. "Betting with me over something like this, you're terrible!" Saezuri was drawing eyes, a half-drunk man stumbling over.

"Is he bothering you, miss?" He asked, face hazed with alcohol as he fought to look steady. Saezuri could see that he was an honest man, most probably on a trip into town for supplies. Farm life, a dull wife at home. Came to the bar for a little excitement to spice his boring days. She snagged her mind away from speculating his life in a bare instant, instead plopping back into her seat and looking to the man with narrowed eyes.

"Bothering me? He just refused to pay my father for his business, and only would if I beat him in a drinking contest!" Madara nearly chuckled when she flicked back her bangs from her face, her dramatics phony and over-zealous. Worse though, he decided, was that the nearby patrons all were interested, falling for her story hook, line, and sinker.

"Well, I say you go through with it, missy." A different man leaned over the back of his chair as he locked a frank gaze on Sae, his cheeks rosy.

"Oh? Don't let her deceive you. She's merely a dirty prostitute that flaked out on giving me any actual services and still demands money." Madara smoothly tore the attention away from her, Saezuri frowning. He was a better actor, she knew; here was the man that could pull off Tobi flawlessly, even changing his gender to Rie and having a damn good time with it. The patrons looked between them, the very first man scratching his balding head.

"Gee, I don't know who to believe." He observed them both, Madara coolly reclined, quietly confident as he stared down Sae, then to said woman, hotly sat on the edge of her seat, seething as she snatched up her sake bottle and drank straight from the mouth of it.

"Then we'll settle this by whoever wins." Sae declared as she set her sake back on the table, grimacing as the burning liquid went down her throat roughly.

"You're on, my dear." Madara scoffed softly as he adverted his eyes down arrogantly, sweeping up his sake elegantly.

...

"J-just give up already, old man." Sae hiccuped as she wavered in her seat, face a deep pink as her blood pooled just beneath her skin.

"Not on your life." Madara retorted back, a light red haze even feathering his own cheeks. One of the patrons slapped him lightly on the back, excited by his answer.

"Come on, keep goin' missy." Another encouraged Saezuri, who slammed back another shot. She groaned as her face twisted, the alcohol tasting sour and unwanted in her mouth. Madara also took a shot, Sae infuriated at his composure. If she was going to get speech-slurring, stumbling drunk, then why wasn't his own condition deteriorating at the same rapid pace? It wasn't fair.

"Y-you jus'-" She stuttered as her lolling head banged to the table, a charming laugh busting from Madara as her features resurfaced, disgruntled and pissed as she looked around as if for someone that had shoved her.

"Oh really?" He cocked a brow, holding back more laughter as she opened her mouth to retort. Her speech withered however as her eyes shot over his shoulder, narrowing. Aware of the hand trying to discreetly reach for the handle of the suitcase at his side, Madara paid them no mind as he sipped at his sake, his right fist flying back with blinding speed to smash sharply into their teeth. Satisfied with the howl that responded, he smirked as he swallowed, pleased when various patrons took a large step back from him. Drunk or not, he wouldn't allow that money to be stolen. Sae burst into laughter as the man held his mouth as he stumbled around, blood dripping to the floor in large splashes. He glared harshly at her, which only caused her laughter to escalate, face glowing a deep red. Pride stinging, the man raised his fist with a yell as he ran for Saezuri.

"Ah ah." She scolded as she raised her foot quickly, the man running smack into it. As he reeled from the unexpected collision, Sae flicked out her katana and settled it with unerring accuracy on his collarbone, her face cheerful as she still giggled. Madara observed with an amount of amusement, Saezuri obviously skilled with dealing with bar brawls.

"You're nuts!" The man called in fear as he stumbled back, blood dribbling down his chin from his broken teeth, courtesy of Madara. Said Uchiha raised his cup in a toast, silently agreeing with the statement as he casually ignored the impending slaughter by his side.

"Scat." Sae chirped cheerfully as she shoved him away with the dull side of her katana, leaving a sizable welt on the man's skin. He hurriedly stumbled back, eventually running out the bar door. Sae's face lit up as she stooped unsteadily, picking something up off the floor with mild difficulty. "Look! He left me a present." She laughed, a pearly front tooth in her palm, blood smudged on her skin.

"Shinobi, huh?" One of the patrons grumbled, the web of lies that Sae and Madara had spun instantly disappearing. Most of the men returned to their tables, irritated at being duped.

"Shall we wrap it up, my dear?" Madara asked as Saezuri flopped back into her seat ungracefully, knocking her elbow on the windowsill corner. Squealing at the pain, she cradled the abused joint as she nodded, bleary eyes unable to focus on Madara's face.

"I need sleeeep~" She sang as Madara supported her out of the bar, his own gait mildly unhinged. It had been years since he had last drank so intensively, the numbing warmth spread through his body not quite welcome. Laughing as Saezuri nearly face-planted into the street below, he decided that it was worth it, however, as he caught her sore elbow. "I'm _suuuuch_ a bad drun_k_." She slurred and laughed lowly as she stood on her tiptoes, hanging on Madara's shoulder affectionately.

"I can't imagine Ituko was much better." He commented as she abruptly removed herself from him, glancing up at the stars.

"It took four bottles before she would even stumble." Sae grumbled, discrediting his statement as she searched out the sky, smiling slightly. "The stars are pretty." Her short hair shone dully, illuminated whenever they would pass a business with its lights still on.

"Not as pretty as you." Madara duped, his features twisted humorlessly. Reading into his sarcasm, Saezuri huffed at his mockery, a swift hand batting out to smack the back of his head.

"Ass." She chuffed, increasing her pace and freeing herself from him. Chuckling lowly, Madara reacted in surprise when a band of men darted out from the alleyway just behind Sae's distanced form, two of them seizing hold of her while the third stole the sword from her sheath. He could see one of them was the man he had punched in the bar, narrowing his eyes as Sae's katana was pointed at his threateningly.

"Give us that suitcase or the girl gets it." The katana was swung around to point at Sae's neck, who had a hand over her mouth as another man held her hands behind her back, her eyes shadowed. Madara set the suitcase on the pebble street, crossing his arms as he casually looked on. Upon feeling the cold metal of her own weapon nudge up under her scarf and touch her already scarred neck, Sae snapped; slipping down onto her back, she freed her mouth as she kicked the man with her katana harshly in the chin with her heeled boot, before wrenching her hands free and latching onto the other man's ankle. Flipping up to her feet, she threw him onto his back and back-handed the third man, kicking the recovering first man in the crotch harshly. He dropped her katana as he clutched in between his legs, Sae's eyes feral as she snatched her weapon back and jabbed one of his companions in the kidney, before using the hilt to bash the back of the third man's head, knocking him out cold. Stumbling from the influence of the alcohol still hazing her mind, Sae shrieked in surprise as a fourth man dropped from the rooftop, meaning to pin her under his foot. Madara's forearm blocked his decent however, his eyes narrowed as he shoved him away. His arm wound around Sae's waist as he supported her, able to read the nausea in her face as she touched her stomach faintly, stomach churning from all the sake in her system.

"You've certainly improved." His voice was quietly prideful as he spoke to her, his gaze locked on the newcomer. This man was completely different from the simple ones groaning on the street, his stance speaking of a trained shinobi. Silver hair slicked back and shirtless chest blatantly displaying a pendant on a necklace, he shifted his hold on the massive scythe in his hands.

"Since you fucking stole my sacrifices, you little shits, you can replace them." He drawled, licking the tip of one of the three blades suggestively. Sae blinked owlishly as she glanced at the three she had just floored, before looking back to the man.

"You can still have them." Sae gagged lightly after she spoke, turning her head as she exhaled, willing herself not to throw up. Madara chuckled lowly, closing his eyes.

"What fun is that, shitface? They're practically passed out!" He waved his scythe in their direction, expression ornery.

"Say, I have a proposition." Madara spoke as he crossed his arms, thinking. The silver haired man raised a brow, leaning on his scythe as he waved a hand to go on. "This suitcase contains a lot of money. Take it to a man named Kakuzu,"

"Shit, find some other servant. I'm not a fucking messenger." The man interrupted, unaware of Madara's eyebrow twitch.

"-and if you do so faithfully, you can join his organization and there will be a steady flow of so called 'sacrifices'. Innocent people to be slaughtered." He had caught the man's attention, Madara could see, "Unless you can't handle yourself around money, of course." Madara shrugged casually, making as if to leave.

"Wait! Wait, fuckdammit." The man called, a hand reaching out. "The name's Hidan." He spouted as Madara raised an eyebrow, Sae quietly watching the proceedings with drooping eyes.

"You'll do it?"

"Only if you give me those there," Hidan nodded his head towards the men groaning on the ground, shouldering his scythe, "and don't think of me so low, fucker, I won't touch the money." He groused, pink eyes glinting with irritation.

"We have a deal then, Hidan." Madara smirked as he threw the suitcase with a strong flick of his hand, Hidan catching it with a grunt, "and don't presume you can run off and me not know. There will be dire consequences if you do."

"Yeah, yeah. Just shut up, you long-winded old bag." Hidan hooked his scythe on his back as Madara scoffed, pulling Sae in with both arms and disappearing with a small pop. Hidan grumbled as he tore off one of the men's shirts, tying around each of their ankles and dragging away his prize to do away with them elsewhere, instead of the middle of the street.

"Was it smart to give him the money?" Sae slurred as they translocated into their inn room, Madara setting her to her feet.

"Of course." He confidently said, holding his hands together in a seal. Saezuri watched with furrowed brows, shrieking when something started to morph out of the floorboards. With wide eyes she beheld a man's head, encased in a venus flytrap; with a clumsy hand she flicked out a shuriken, throwing it towards him without a bare thought. Drunken as she was, the shuriken whizzed past harmlessly, embedding itself in the wall.

"W-what is that?" She stuttered as the head turned baleful eyes onto her, disinterested.

"This," Madara gestured, a hand on his hip, "is Zetsu-san. He's an ally."

"Zetsu-san?" Sae questioned, frowning when she was ignored.

"Follow a man called Hidan. He has silver hair and is currently shirtless, and has my case of money. Make sure it arrives safely to Kakuzu, and also informs him that they are now partners." Business-like, Madara was stern.

"Is that all?" Zetsu questioned dully, already starting to sink back into the floor.

"Aa." Madara contested as he watched his subordinate disappear, glancing at Sae as she started to move for the bathroom. Blinking at her wobbling ankles, unable to function in her heeled boots, he watched her wilt, striking the floor with a loud thud. Shaking his head, he picked her wrist up and hauled her passed out form onto his shoulder, settling her on the bed and pulling the covers to her chin.

She certainly was an amusing drunk.

* * *

Thoughts~?


	4. Chapter 4

Shoorrrrt. ;-;  
I just switched schools this week and am in the process of taking the ACT and shizzz. Not much free time, as you can tell. P:  
Also, is there really only one of you reviewers who want PM's?

Ithilien1234- The two years is important, yes, but not in an upfront way. Little tidbits will be revealed of course, but it would have been tedious and I would have ran out of material if I had actually wrote through it all.

bittersweetties- Hidan is...well, he'll develop. However, I figured he would not be so hostile as he got his sacrifices afterall, and Saezuri and Madara posed no immediate threat to him. Trust me, the malicious, vulgar Hidan we all know and love will appear, especially after being partnered to Kakuzu of all people~

Enjoy!

* * *

Saezuri stumbled as her foot caught on the rocky terrain below, hurriedly touching the sandstone wall to her right to steady her balance. Boulders and broken rocks were visible down the steep slope Madara was leading her down, his back small to her as he was already halfway descended.

"Oi, why can't we just translocate in?" She called, irritated as her square heel got caught between two sharp rocks.

"There are seals set up against it." Madara twisted enough to glance back at her, cat-like as he paused on top of a boulder. Frowning, Sae grabbed her katana to prevent the blade from slipping out and channeled chakra to her feet, nervously flicking her eyes to her intended landing place. Taking a running leap, wind blew her short hair from her face in a flurry as she spread her limbs, scarcely clearing a sharp jut of sandstone. Landing with a sharp clack of her heels, Sae dipped into a roll to break her momentum and glanced back up the cliff she had just avoided entirely. Madara shook his head as he dropped down beside her, comparatively silent to her loud rush.

"In here? This doesn't seem like a good location for a base." Saezuri said as she faced the dark mouth of the cave to her left, Madara already strolling inside.

"Exactly, my dear. Nobody exactly comes snooping around here." He chuckled as the shadows completely shielded his form, Sae following in as an afterthought. She trailed behind, pupils blowing wide to accommodate the change in lighting; the rough cave mouth transformed into smooth walls, Madara lighting torches on the wall with quick jet of fire from his

"That's insane." Sae's eyes flew wide as the torches lit down the rest of the hall, a spider web covering nearly every inch of free space. The strands glittered under the flickering lights, dust coating the outer strands and painting them an opaque gray.

"It's really been a long time." Madara frowned, glancing at Sae as she pulled her hands together. Flicking through a dozen handseals, she raised her hand to her mouth in a way reminiscent of Madara's katon, water spraying in a fine mist as she blew chakra. Growing to a torrent, the water ripped the web from the wall and revealed it to be a near fifteen foot long dense block, fine strands coagulating into a wet mass on the floor. Wiping her lips with a dainty thumb, Saezuri cleared her throat as she glanced at Madara, flicking her eyebrows up.

"Why are you so set on using this base? There are plenty of others." Saezuri asked as she trotted after him, his resumed pace swift.

"Akatsuki will be on the move relatively soon. Itachi and Kisame are already starting to track their own target, and the others will soon also." Madara's deep voice bounced down the hall, faint echoes sending chills up Sae's spine. She tipped her head, looking up to his back, watching his ever longer hair sway with his stride. The very longest strands mingled by his elbows, that she had the urge to reach out and grab.

"Itachi and Kisame?" Saezuri quietly murmured, thinking as she scratched behind her ear absentmindedly. "Can I go with them?" She asked suddenly, brightening when Madara glanced back at her. His brows pulled, trying to find an ulterior motive to her request.

"Why?" He stopped and faced her fully, arms crossed across his chest. Blinking rapidly, Saezuri let her hand drop and raised her eyes to his.

"I want to train with Kisame." She said, as if it was the most obvious. Madara snorted as he moved to press an iron door open, the room inside dusty and unused, with sheets of paper strewn across the several tables.

"You'll only distract them from tracking." Madara said as he let the door swing closed, hooking a torch off the wall with a sinuous hand.

"Will not." Sae looked to the side as she mumbled, irritated at his lack of faith. Upon hearing his chuckle her eyes darted up, seeing him looking over his shoulder, lips quirked.

"Aa, you can go." He bemusedly said, as it clicked in her mind that his previous reluctance had been a subtle jab of teasing. Kicking a stray rock on the floor at him, she frowned as he leapt and stuck to the ceiling, avoiding the small missile that had been headed for the soft spot between his shoulder blades. Grinning catishly, Sae darted up to meet him, following his quick strides across the ceiling, scarf streaming behind her. Madara chuckled darkly as he jumped from the ceiling and nimbly whirled around a corner and out of sight, Sae following with a bright titter of a laugh. Her boots clacked as she dropped to the floor expertly, darting over to look down the hall Madara had disappeared into. Seeing nothing but darkness, Sae cautiously stepped forward, ducking under the swing of Madara's arm as he appeared behind her. Sweeping out a leg, she meant to catch his ankle, shrieking when he caught her wrist and lightly threw her to the wall. Spinning away as his elbow dug into the stone, Sae lashed out playfully and shoved his chest, sending him leaning back as she ran. Madara hummed lightly as he snagged her scarf, the material choking Sae as she stumbled back, her back thudding to the wall once more. With a swift hand Madara caught her chin, leaning into her face with a predatory grin.

"Fine, you win." Sae breathed, the wind knocked out of her lungs as she fought not to chuckle. She blinked as Madara's nose touched hers, his dark eyes laughing as he locked gazes.

"Of course I do." He rumbled, malicious grin widening. Sinking his large hands in her hair, Madara watched her composure frazzle as he bit her lip harshly, chuckling low in his throat. Saezuri fumbled when he pulled away abruptly, nearly falling over at the sudden loss of support.

"You really aren't fair, you know." She commented as she raised her gaze, touching a delicate finger to her smarting lip; she could feel the indents of his teeth, the skin most probably red and bruised she figured.

"That's nearly a given-- who said anything about being fair?" Madara crossed his arms as he observed her eyebrow twitch. Sae coolly straightened her spine and reached out for Madara's hair, tracing a light hand along his hairline.

"Just maybe... I should correct that then." She stated lightly, an evil curl to her lips as she nonchalantly tightened her grip, yanking hard on the long strands by his temple. With a faint growl Madara easily ripped her head back, hand clenched at the nape of her neck.

"Not a good idea." He breathed against her skin, voice sinister as his lips brushed against the scarf. With a flash of irritation he pulled the silky red material from her neck, letting it coil to the dust-covered floor. "I really hate that thing, also." His eyes were intense as he moved to cup Sae's jaw, drawing her doe eyes back to his face. She was stunned, he could see.

"I just don't like-" Her fingers rose to touch the scar stretching across her neck, unfaded even after two years. Madara let his eyes drift down, taking in the trailing, pearly texture of the healed wound.

"Does it matter? Wear it like any other shinobi wears a scar." His voice was quiet, a thumb drawing across the irregular scar. Saezuri shivered, sensitivity heightened as her flesh crawled with danger, ever remembering the mist ANBU's biting slash.

"If you insist." Sae broke Madara's hold on her as she picked up her scarf, folding it neatly. As an afterthought she kissed Madara's cheek lightly, before tucking the red material into the pouch on her hip. "Shall we?" She flicked large eyes onto Madara's face, striding down the hall and deeper into the base. He ruffed her hair as his long legs easily carried him to her side, a sinuous arm slinging over her sleek shoulders comfortably.

"Aa. This place needs to be cleaned up and conditioned for the coming months."

* * *

Thoughts?


	5. Chapter 5

Not much to say today, except: wee-hee, length!

Enjoy, lovelies.

* * *

"Saezuri." Madara leaned against the newly-clean wall to his left, watching as she glanced up, a strand of hair falling into her eyes.

"Yes?" She sat up onto her knees, abandoning the brush she had been cleaning the floor with. Chakra nearly depleted, she had had to resort to cleaning the old-fashioned way instead of using water jutsu. Something Sae supposed was a good thing, seeing as she had already destroyed a door and crumbled a pillar, forgetting to tone down the battle-ready force of the water she conjured.

"You'll want to be leaving soon if you want to catch Kisame and Itachi on their way through." Madara picked at a stray thread hanging from his sleeve hemline absentmindedly as Sae rose to her feet, blinking.

"So soon? I only just rejoined you." Frowning, Saezuri stepped forward slightly. She tipped her head when Madara met her eyes, his lips quirked faintly.

"They won't be going far, Konoha is not even a day's travel." His gaze flicked down as he straightened from the wall, letting his arms drop to his sides. "I need you to bring them back here, anyhow." He touched her chin, bringing her eyes to his. Searching onyx orbs met Madara, Saezuri unsure of how to react as he grabbed her jaw. With a tremendous kiss he surprised her, Sae's neck popping lightly as he hauled up with his powerful hands. Her palms settled on his shoulders as he pulled away, satisfied.

"How will I find them?" She asked breezily, playing with a strand of his long hair. Madara caught her hand, chuckling darkly.

"It won't be hard, trust me. Now get going, you." He tossed her hand lightly, prodding between her shoulders blades as she turned.

"Oi, I'm moving." Sae snapped playfully as she twisted enough to swat his hand before disappearing around the corner. She squinted as she stepped out into the bright sun, shielding her eyes with a hand as she looked up the steep incline she had to climb. Grumbling as she hooked a hand into a niche, she hoisted herself up and grabbed the next handhold, irritated that she was just setting out as her chakras were so low that she couldn't even hold a simple henge if she tried. Sweating, Saezuri leapt onto the next boulder, scraping her hands as she hauled herself to her feet. After nearly fifteen minutes she crawled over the top, pressing a hot hand against her face as she glanced back at the cliff behind her. Brushing her white dress off, Sae touched her katana as she wandered through the field sprawled in front of her, not understanding how she was supposed to just 'know' how to find Itachi and Kisame. Trailing a hand through the tall grass, Saezuri decided to just head deeper into the Fire Country, and hopefully run into them on the path.

...

"How about a pretty amulet, lady?" A grizzled vendor waved a necklace fisted in his hand at Saezuri, who frowned lightly. The streets of the small town she had ran into were clean, many shops set up in preparation for a festival; Sae worried that she had missed Itachi and Kisame, knowing she was nearing Konoha. Glancing down the boardwalk, she blinked at the mass of people milling about.

"Hey!" She whirled to the vendor, startling the old man with her abrupt change of heart. Placing her hands on his wooden cart, Sae leaned forward, "Have you seen two men in cloaks come through here?"

"I don't know. Maybe I could be persuaded to remember..." He swept a hand over the jewelry set out on his cart, smiling wickedly and revealing missing teeth. Sae resisted the urge to punch him and instead pulled the pouch from her hip, smiling sweetly.

"How much then?" She snapped open her holster, showing glittering weapons, "Perhaps a gimpy finger? Maybe a quick stab to the kidneys? A sweep across the jugular?" The old man paled, the skin between his eyes stressing.

"T-that way. Two men went towards the inn sector not ten minutes ago." His finger shook as he pointed down the street, Saezuri clipping her canvas pouch back to her belt cheerfully.

"Thank you for your help." She pressed her hands together and bowed mockingly, quickly departing off into the crowd. The vendor craned his neck to make sure she was really leaving, heaving a relieved sigh after she was gone.

"Watch it!" A woman snapped as Sae brushed against her kimono as she sped by. Ignoring her, Saezuri stilled as she felt a faint pulse of Kisame's chakra, veering out of the crowd and into an alleyway. Seeing both him and Itachi quietly talking in one of the shrouded corners, Sae brightened as she stepped forward, the noise of her shoe against the street drawing their attention.

"Kisame-sensei, Itachi-san." She quipped lightly, smiling as she joined them.

"What are you doing here?" Kisame asked interestedly, while Itachi merely eyed her dully.

"I wanted to train with you again." Sae said as she shifted on her feet, settling a hand on her hip, "And I have instructions for you both after we're done with your target." She lowered her voice minutely.

"Aa." Itachi murmured in understanding, glancing down the alley. Faint shadows played at the opening from the passing people briefly obstructing the light source, flickering light rays playing across all three of their feet.

"I look forward to it." Kisame displayed his sharp teeth as he snickered lightly, looking at his young charge. Already he could see she wasn't as meek as he had known her to be, her stance much more confident and boisterous than her modest behavior before.

"So is there anything I can help with?" Sae asked as she glanced between the two of them, blinking when Itachi settled his dark, quiet eyes on her.

"Actually, yes." His sharingan whispered lightly as it surfaced into his eyes, Kisame curiously noting how Saezuri was unafraid to look into their depths.

...

Saezuri grumbled under her breath as she walked the streets, disoriented. Her breasts were too large and frame too short, drawing all the wrong kinds of attention; Itachi had cast a powerful henge over her image, so much that it was nearly the same feeling as when Madara had sealed her into Seiji's appearance. Dark hair was swung over her shoulder, the length long and well cared for. Sharp eyes scanned the crowd she shifted through, scanning nameless faces; white hair was what she was looking for.

"Eck." Sae whispered lightly as she spotted Jiraiya, wincing at what she had been put up to. Her eyes drifted down to the child at his side, instantly registering him as adorable-- she almost felt sorry as she oriented herself in their view, combing delicate fingers through her mane of hair. Glancing out of the corner of her eye, Sae saw Jiraiya's gaze drawn to her, winking playfully at him. She watched him shove all of his things on the kid by his side, jogging forward with the most cheesy smile Saezuri thought she had ever seen.

"My, you look like a strong man." She purred as Jiraiya offered his arm to her, taking the time to caress his skin as she twined her hands around his elbow.

"Only the finest." His deep voice was all wrong, making the hairs on Sae's arm raise unpleasantly. His sandals clacked obnoxiously as Sae followed him out into the street, irritated at the clopping noise--

It was nothing like the whispers of Madara's feet.

"You must make alot of money." Saezuri lowered her voice as she trailed a dainty finger down his chest, smirking darkly when Jiraiya laughed, slinging an arm around her shoulders. Resisting the urge to shrug it off, Sae ran her fingers over the broad back of his hand by her neck.

"Oh, but of course." Jiraiya paused in the middle of the street, facing her. Shrewdly, his eyes raked over her image, Saezuri's eyes flying wide when he pinched the nerve in her shoulder. "Money that's not available for tampered women, however." Jiraiya caught Sae as her senses dimmed, her vision shuttering out black.

...

"Saezuri." Blinking open her eyes, Sae bewilderedly registered Itachi inches from her face; his fingers settled on her forehead, the henge attached to her disappearing with a faint mist of smoke. Taking his offered hand, she let the younger man haul her to her feet from where she had been slumped against the wall, turning her gaze on the situation.

"I guess I was wrong for judging you innocent." Jiraiya's tone was dark as she met his eyes.

"Indeed." Sae nonchalantly brushed him off as she glanced to the child by his side, stunned blue eyes giving a pang to her heart.

"In that case, I'll just have to kill all three of you." Jiraiya shifted as he raised his hands, Saezuri tensing at the killing intent he started to radiate.

"No!" At the childish voice she whipped around, seeing a black-haired boy stumble to his feet. She noted how Itachi's eyes slimmed murderously, surprised to see such an expression on the Uchiha's face.

"I have absolutely no interest in you right now." Itachi's tone rose hairs even on Sae's neck; he was channeling a malevolence similar to Madara's, albeit much more refined and sophisticated. Flinching when Itachi lashed out, Sae watched curiously as he easily beat down the kid.

"No mercy at all." Kisame laughed, drawing Sae's attention.

"Euh? Who is the kid?" She tipped her head curiously, drawing her katana with a reflexive quirk when she spotted the blonde boy twitch out of the corner of her eye. Leveling the blade at Naruto, Saezuri kept her gaze focused on Kisame.

"Itachi's little brother." Amused, he shouldered Samehada, missing the tick in Sae's face.

"Another Uchiha..." She murmured as she glanced back at the two siblings, paling when blood-curdling screams arose.

"_Itachi__!_ I advise against using that eye so much." Kisame admonished, glaring at his partner's back. Out of character, he had been, ever since stepping foot in Konoha-- something that was starting to get on Kisame's nerves.

"Oi!" Sae snapped as Naruto ran for Itachi, Kisame quickly giving chase. Sae resisted, however, as she heard the telltale whispers of someone making handseals, whipping to face Jiraiya.

"You're in my stomach now." The sannin smirked as he rose from his crouch, Saezuri stumbling back as the summoned meat started to close around her feet. Swiping at it with her katana, she frowned when it grew right back over her boots. "It's normally against my morals to kill women, but you can be an exception, I suppose." Jiraiya looked at her, something akin to pity in his eyes, "Traveling with two such high-rank criminals automatically puts you to bingo-book status."

"Kisame, Saezuri, come." Itachi flew around the corner, Kisame quickly detaching himself as well.

"Saezuri, aa?" Jiraiya cocked a brow at her while she struggled to free her feet, irritated that she didn't have enough chakra for a water jutsu as she ran after Itachi.

"Kisame!" Sae flung out an arm as she started to get sucked back down as she was catching up to the shark-nin, panicking when one of her boots dislodged from her heel.

"Let's go, gaki!" He twisted enough to catch her wrist, yanking her forcefully from the tissue. Flying in the air, Sae fumbled as Kisame hooked her waist under his arm, Samehada in his other hand. Losing her shoe, Sae curled her toes as she watched tendrils of muscle come chasing after them, blindly reaching back for her katana. "The wall is faster than us." Kisame called to Itachi as Sae swatted at the tendrils, her sharp sword leaving deep lacerations. Kisame tossed Sae out to her feet as he used Samehada to stall the pursuing meat, making quick work while a large explosion rocked the end of the hall. Sae's hair fanned out as she darted after Itachi, watching the Uchiha drop down out of sight through the large hole he had torn through the wall. Planting her hands on the jagged edges of the wall that wasn't in flames, Saezuri flipped out after him, legs splaying as she dropped the two stories to the ground. Hitting a beat after Itachi, Sae jumped to her feet just as Kisame appeared, cloak flapping as he fell, also. Running with one heel and a bare foot took a massive amount of coordination, she found, as she struggled not to topple over.

"This retreat isn't even necessary." Kisame growled from behind Saezuri as they made it out onto the river on the outskirts of town. Sae ran flat across the surface as they bounded into the air, not having enough chakra to propel herself so high. She regretted having so blatantly used her jutsu for simple cleaning work, _knowing_ that she was slow to replenish energy. Itachi's reply was lost to her over the wind as they flew far over her head, her eyes tracking the land. Seeing a familiar patch of trees, she veered off to the left, Kisame giving a startled grunt.

"This way~!" Sae called as she stepped off onto the river bank, taking enough time to kick off her other boot. Bare-footed, her balance was supreme as she pivoted, running off into the trees.

"When did you get so fast?" Kisame asked as both he and Itachi followed behind her, aware of a competency Sae hadn't possessed before.

"Out-running authority tends to whip you into shape pretty fast." She snickered, remembering all the illegal errands she had run for Ituko; she had learned fast that sitting in custody overnight was not pleasant, Ituko oftentimes being hours late to retrieve her, through conventional ways or no.

"Oh?" Kisame was interested, she could hear. Saezuri resolutely remained silent, smiling all the while.

It took a scarce few hours before Sae started to slow her pace, coming upon the steep drop-off she knew signaled the base entrance. Walking up and peering over the edge, Sae paused.

"Down there." She said lightly as she pointed a skinny finger over the edge, refusing to go first. Kisame easily strode forward and dropped out of sight, Itachi following soon after-- Sae could see the exhaustion in his shoulders, the onyx of his eyes giving her reason enough to believe that his sharingan had really taken a toll on his energy. They both peered up at her as her head poked over the edge, taking in the steep cliff. Using the last dregs of her chakra, Sae propelled herself out, landing with a harsh pat of dust with the pads of her feet stinging from the impact.

"Sae-chan!" Madara rushed out of the cave mouth, orange mask covering his features. Sweeping Sae up in a large bear hug, her spine rattled a barrage of cracks as he squeezed powerfully, after which he all but practically carried her inside.

"Tobi?" Kisame tilted his head as he strode inside the darkened base.

"Kisame-san, Itachi-san." Tobi tittered lightly as he let Sae stumble away from him. "Ne, what happened to your shoes?" Madara invaded Sae's personal space, her eyebrow twitching when the smooth coolness of his mask touched the tip of her nose.

"Nothing, nosy." She laid her hand over his face, pushing him away with a flick of her wrist. Saezuri studied Madara as he moved to brightly say something to Kisame, noting something different about his appearance; she couldn't quite put a finger on it, which bothered her immensely.

"I'm starving." Kisame rumbled as he moved deeper into the base, Itachi quietly disappearing.

"Tobi made you guys food~" Madara sang lightly as he followed after the shark-nin, Saezuri at his side. She herself needed something to eat, both because of the run she had just undergone and to speed her chakra recovery. Sitting in the newly cleaned kitchen, Sae refrained from kicking Madara as he settled across from her, elbows on the table as he held his chin, an onyx eye blatantly staring at her from under the mask.

"What, Tobi?" She finally asked, closing her eyes in irritation as she set down her bowl of rice, neatly placing her chopsticks on the rim.

"You have soot on your face." He cheerfully chirped, Saezuri blinking her eyes open curiously.

"That she does." Kisame laughed as he peered at her, taking a massive bite of rice. Unbothered, Sae wiped her cheek with the heel of her palm blindly. Tobi chuckled as he leaned forward, thumbing underneath her eye; it suddenly clicked what seemed so different about him, her eyes widening. Lightning fast, she fisted a hand in the hair standing up on the top of his head, the strands shorter than she remembered.

"You cut you hair?" She half-stood from her chair, both her hands going over his ears as she ran her fingers through the silky length-- it was _definitely_ shorter. Madara's hands shot to her wrists in warning, preventing her from accidentally dislodging his mask in front of Kisame.

"How observant, Sae-chan." He tittered, surprised when Sae scowled.

"Why did you go and do that? I liked it before!" Tobi shrugged nonchalantly, brushing her off.

"You did the same thing, I recall." Gleaming, his eye was cunning as he met Sae's gaze, her hands dropping.

"Touché." She murmured, moving to clean her bowl.

* * *

Thoughts?


	6. Chapter 6

I do love Tobi so~

That is all.

* * *

Kisame stalled as he passed through the living room, blinking when he noticed Sae loosely sprawled across the couch, her head in Tobi's lap while she held a scroll aloft in front of her face, reading. A thin leg was thrown over the back of the couch, dainty foot swinging to an unknown rhythm.

"Ah-" His finger raised in a loose point, at a loss for words, "Tobi? And you? Together?"

"Euh?" Sae chirped as she looked over from her reading, Madara's fingers pausing in combing through her hair.

"Of course." Madara tittered lightly, his eye arching as he grinned darkly behind his mask, "Tobi just loves his Sae-chan~" He went on to lean over her head and hug both his arms around her face tightly, effectively smothering her as he hummed cheerfully.

"Eh-Tobi! Dammit, let go!" Saezuri flailed, her scroll flying as she fought to loosen his strangle-hold. Lodging a foot under his chin, Sae pressed harshly as Madara just kept humming, laughing when she finally popped her head from his grip. "I swear I'm going to just beat you one of these days!" She huffed at him, a feminine, threatening fist raising as she rolled upright, hair sticking at odd angles. Failing to notice Kisame's bewildered look, as if he couldn't believe his eyes, Saezuri went on to smack her rolled up scroll over Madara's head.

"Huh. I'm stumped." The shark-nin ran a hand through his hair, still unbelieving as Tobi tackled Sae's midsection, nuzzling up under her chin with a childish abandon; Sae growled loudly from under him, legs flailing uselessly in the air as he pinned her heavily to the couch.

"Ger'rof!" Saezuri muffled through the cushion her face was shoved into, smacking Madara's back as Kisame crept from the room, unnoticed-- he had no desire to watch them quarrel, already too weirded out by the very notion of them, together.

"You like it." Madara chirped as he abruptly sat up, cross-legged as he held his ankles, perched on the end of the couch. Sae blew her hair out of her face as she rose from her sprawl, irritated beyond measure by Tobi's personality.

"You're a little twerp, y'know?" Her tone was hostile as she lunged forward, tackling them both to the floor; Madara's back hit with a loud thump, their combined weight formidable. Wriggling to straddle him, Sae leaned forward with a malicious smile.

"I win." She murmured, her grin widening as she echoed his words from their impromptu tag-game from before she had retrieved Itachi and Kisame- something that did not pass unnoticed by Madara, his single eye slimming.

"I'm afraid not, my dear." Velvet, his normal tone sent hairs raising on the back of Saezuri's neck. Taking advantage of her lax grip, he easily threw her to the floor lightning-fast, sitting on her mid-section with his full weight.

"Oh-" Sae puffed, the air thrown from her lungs.

"Say uncle." Madara sang with Tobi's scratchy drawl, deliberately pressing down harder on her with laughing eyes.

"U-uncle." Sae wheezed, her eye squinting in irk when he raised a hand to his ear mockingly.

"Wha-? Tobi can't hear you~"

"Un_cle_!" She huffed, using her flexible hips to kick her leg up, knocking him in the back of his head.

"Ow!" He toppled off her, rubbing his head as she sat up, "Sae-chan is being mean today." Madara rose to his feet fluidly, Saezuri collecting her thin scroll from the floor.

"You started it." She quipped back, tossing the scroll to the table carelessly, "Anyway, I have training to get to." She whirled from the room with a flick of her short hair, grabbing up her katana from where she had leaned it against the wall before laying down.

...

"Kisame-sensei." Sae chirped lightly as she orientated herself across from the mist shinobi, her stance loose; much more rejuvenated after last night's sleep, her chakra was nearly back to normal levels.

"Let's see if you can keep up." Kisame grinned ferally, his sharp teeth gleaming faintly under the torch light-- they were in one of the larger rooms in the base, a natural cavern with high ceilings of rough rock. Saezuri quirked her eyebrows at him as he rushed forward with an aggressive grunt, heaving Samehada from his back in one fluid movement. Saezuri ducked under the swing, drawing her katana swiftly and knocking the butt-end of her hilt straight into the side of his elbow. Following with a series of precise, controlled movements, she aimed for the soft spots of his stomach before he withdrew, Samehada held at the ready; Saezuri could see him re-evaluating how best to approach. No longer did she fight with the long, elaborate swings he had taught her, and Sae knew exactly how she came off: street. Small movements ideal for cramped spaces, she had quickly adjusted to fighting in between the alleys of Grass' capitol, across building tops and inside cramped hallways, reserving her former flashy style only for when she was serious with intent to kill.

"Where in the world did you go since we last met, gaki? You fight completely different." Kisame asked as he swung a broad arc, Saezuri hopping neatly over his whistling weapon.

"I got myself a criminal record." She bluntly said, her own swing evaded as she lunged forward.

"Oh?" He grinned devilishly, kicking her down at a small opening. Sae rolled back onto her curved spine and nimbly lighted to her feet with a thrust of her arm, stabbing her katana against the stone floor for balance.

"Impersonation of government officials, theft, association with organized crime, you name it." She laughed cheerfully, tapping her katana against her shoulder nonchalantly.

"Hmph." Kisame swung Samehada around his head in a loop, coming down harshly on Sae's katana she raised to parry. Her standard shinobi sandals squealed lightly on the floor as she skidded backwards. Heeled boots no more, she was glad- she would have been toppled had she been wearing them. Kicking Kisame in the jaw, she got in an elbow to his collarbone before being thrown to the floor, lightweight against his sturdy bulk. "Resourceful, gaki." He grinned, excited at her competency; she was definitely holding her own.

"You have no idea." She said as a gloating smile crossed her features, clapping her hands together in a final seal, "Suiton: Shiraku!" Confident, Sae had sneakily been forming singular seals whenever she could, the broken sequence unnoticed by Kisame. The shark-nin's eyes widened as her chakra invaded his bloodstream, her brows furrowing as his arm shakily raised Samehada, not completely subdued.

"You can't win with a jutsu from _my_ village." He laughed, Sae's legs starting to shake as more and more chakra was drained from her- the flow into Kisame seemed neverending, the jutsu drawing more and more from her as he resisted further. Finally severing the useless struggle with a gasp, Sae fell to the floor as Kisame struck, a feeble arm raising her katana. Rolling out of the way of the tip of the massive sword that he plunged for her head, Sae flipped to her feet and whipped around, meaning to catch his neck. Kisame grinned at the appearance of the moves he had taught her, parrying the blow. Fighting on adrenaline, Saezuri lasted several minutes more, throwing a barrage of fast attacks. Kisame kept up with her, eventually stealing the pace of the battle and turning the tables on her, shoving her back into defensive steps.

"I give!" Sae called finally, flopping to the floor with an exhausted sigh. Kisame himself stopped mid-swing, leaning against his massive sword. Wiping sweat from his brow, he grinned as he offered a blue hand to her.

"Good fight." He said lightly as he pulled Saezuri to her feet easily, grinning.

"Aa." Sae responded cheerfully, slipping her katana back into her sheath with a soft clack.

..

"Kisame, we'll be leaving." Itachi quietly murmured as he joined the shark-nin in the kitchen, Saezuri sitting on the counter as Tobi washed a collection of old kunai and shuriken in the sink.

"Oh?" The shark-nin faced his partner, immediately noticing the lessened bags under his eyes and the stress absent from his shoulders. Kisame worried about the young Uchiha oftentimes- he would catch him coughing or a flash of emotion across his face, betraying his rather frail disposition. Formidable ninja or no, Itachi was not a hard man, Kisame had increasingly found over the years.

"Farewell, then." Saezuri piped up as Itachi moved to leave the room, getting a lofty hand in response. She glanced at Kisame in question, blinking when he just shrugged his shoulders.

"See ya, gaki." Kisame followed after his partner, disappearing around the corner.

"Did something happen between you and Itachi?" Sae asked Madara, swinging down off the counter. Her toes curled as her bare feet connected with the cold stone floor.

"He didn't quite like me interrupting his rest with reprimands for letting the kyuubi get away." He chuckled, flicking the water from his hands as he dumped the collection of weapons on a towel to dry. Turning to face Saezuri, she reached out and took the mask from his face, combing fingers through his short hair that was sticking at an odd angle.

"He did seem rather distant." She said lightly, recalling seeing the younger man only twice over the week they had stayed; he barely came out for meals, sleeping for stints up to nearly sixteen hours.

"That's Itachi for you." Madara chuckled as he crossed his arms, leaning against the counter comfortably.

"Well, at least he's polite, I guess." Saezuri shrugged, dismissing the topic. She didn't connect with Itachi, and she suspected even Madara didn't understand him.

A real enigma, he was.

* * *

Thoughts~?


	7. Chapter 7

I've had trouble writing lately. I've had this pissy mood, so I forestalled working on this so it wouldn't affect anything.  
Yeah. I'm good now though.

Also, Jin is from chapter 4 in Sparrow. If you don't remember him and the fiasco with Ituko, it might be beneficial if you go back and read.

Enjoy~

* * *

Saezuri frowned as she riffled through the large stack of papers in one of the base's rooms, an improvised library of sorts. Her feet were bare upon the floor; she wore a borrowed, sleeveless black shirt, accompanied with some past Akatsuki member's shorts, that bagged around her waist loosely.

"What are you doing?" Madara's interruption of her search made her hands fumble the sheaf of papers, that with a lunge she prevented from scattering all over the floor.

"Looking." Sae murmured as she glanced over her shoulder, surprised to see him-- it was nearly three in the morning, his short, bed-head hair attesting to that fact.

"Why so late?" One of his brows arched as he came forward, sleep still heavy around his eyes; Sae's own dark orbs contrasted his, bright with energy.

"I couldn't sleep." She glanced back to the papers, scanning, "So I figured I'd make use of it instead of staring at a dull ceiling."

"Oh?" Madara sat at the chair opposite of where she was standing, observing her movements. For Saezuri to have problems falling asleep, he knew that it had to be a strong bout of insomnia to keep her awake and so restless.

"I'm looking for a summon." She offered as Madara said nothing more, glancing up to him. She paused when he frowned tiredly, curious as to his thoughts.

"Check the far wall." He lazily pointed to the shelf of books, watching Saezuri scan all of the titles. Nearly dozing off after ten minutes, Madara's eyes snapped wider at the slight thump Sae made as she plopped to the floor, riffling through a book. Bored, she flipped through nearly half the pages, eventually replacing it on the shelf with a sigh.

"There's nothing here." She murmured, glancing up to him. Madara had his chin propped on his palm, leaned over the table as he observed her.

"What kind of summon are you looking for?" He rumbled, shifting slightly.

"Mmmmnh..." Saezuri cast her eyes to the ceiling, laying back on the stone floor as an afterthought, "Not cats, obviously." Her lips quirked minutely, remembering the incident with Pii. "I was thinking something mobile, also." She rolled over onto her stomach, crossing her arms upon the floor.

"The best for traveling would be birds." Madara eased back in his chair, dull mind turning circles. "Which would either be the owls in Kumo, or the falcons over in Suna. Others, I don't know of." Saezuri sighed, unsure of which to choose.

"Falcons, I believe." She scratched behind her ear, thinking. "I can remember something about the owls from the academy. I don't think they're favorable beings."

"Aa. Suna is more accessible from here, too." Reminded of Madara's tired state as he blinked dully, she rose to her feet. Crossing the room, Sae smiled as she tucked one of his hands out, urging him to his feet with a gentle tug.

"I think I can sleep now." She said as Madara slung an arm around her shoulders, her slight chuckle as he jostled her pleasing him.

...

"See that tower guard?" Madara's deep, hushed voice in Saezuri's ear rose the fine hairs on her neck as she looked to where he was pointing, his toned arm extended out over her shoulder as he crouched right behind her.

"Yes." She whispered back, tightening her hold on her drawn katana. Sae felt his chest brush the back of her head as he shifted, the both of them crunched inside a very small alcove in the cliffside. The village in their view wasn't Suna-- an armed town on the outskirts, Madara felt it best to start the search for the summoning contract there.

"Every few minutes he glances back to check the interior. You have to seize that time-frame, scale the wall and conceal yourself without him noticing." He murmured to her, dark eyes studying the back of her head. He could see her shoulders high and tense, the fine muscles shifting restlessly under her skin.

"I'll do one better." Sae said as she pinned her katana between her knees, freeing her hands to make seals for Toorima. Madara's lips quirked as she visually disappeared after a long moment, her image blotting out with a cloaked effect. Feeling her thigh brush against his settled knee, he felt a faint flutter of air as she presumably leapt from the alcove. Frowning upon seeing no little landing pats of dust on the ground far below, Madara's sharingan surfaced into his eyes as he sought to find where she went, knowing that Toorima wouldn't have concealed her tracks in the sand.

"Clever." He laughed to himself as he immediately found her, chakra flaring a bright blue in his vision as he observed her trapsy across the sand on her fingertips, legs nimbly hanging in the air. The guard was clueless as he boredly looked out, not noticing the slight indentations Sae's small fingertips made in the sand. Madara cocked his head as she made it to the wall, her feet sticking to the rough surface with chakra as she grabbed the katana she had pinched in her mouth, arching her back and flipping herself from the sand to cling to the stone wall. Saezuri took a moment to glance back his way, flashing a quick, jaunty salute before she moved up the wall quickly, knowing that she couldn't afford to sustain Toorima for much longer without completely devastating her chakra reserves. A quick hand rose over the top edge of the stone, lean muscles easily pulling Sae up to land on her feet, teetering on the edge of the four story tall wall. She glanced mutely at the guard hunched over the edge not five feet from her, sunlight lighting up his profile. Blinking once, Saezuri jumped from the edge, tucking into a tight flip as she dropped out of Madara's sight on the opposite side. Flaring her limbs at the last moment, Sae's dull replacement sandals thudded lowly as she landed, her heels throbbing lightly. Instantly rolling into a fast tuck, she concealed herself behind a wagon as she released Toorima, gasping lowly at the wave of exhaustion that was familiar to her. "I almost get the feeling you've done this before." Madara startled her as he warped in with a faint whisper, Saezuri fumbling the hilt of her katana.

"I worked for Ituko, you're forgetting." She murmured, brushing sand dust from her clothes. Forgoing her white dress, Sae had kept the large tank top and shorts, the black helping conceal her figure.

"She had you sneaking in places?" One of his brows climbed his forehead, incredulous. He had specifically _told_ Ituko to keep Sae out of trouble while she stayed in Grass.

"You think she would actually listen to you?" Saezuri scoffed as she peeked around the wheel she was leaning against, making sure they hadn't been spotted yet, "I was regularly breaking into establishments and stealing, and threatening officials to leave our factions alone." She smiled darkly at a memory, aware of Madara's less-than-happy expression. Down the street, she noticed a very tall, adolescent figure, immediately recognizing the stooped, skinny shoulders and lank brown hair. "Cro_o__oo_!" Sae cupped her hands to her mouth, making a surprisingly adept pigeon call. Madara's other brow joined the first, Saezuri seeming to run nearly on autopilot. Not once had he had to intervene in her actions to save them from being noticed. The boy down the street perked, glancing around nonchalantly.

"Is that...?" He almost recognized the teen, trying to remember where he would have seen him before.

"It's Jin." Saezuri chirped as she darted out from behind the wagon, lighting upon a trashcan nimbly before jumping up inside a large canopy, concealing herself. Madara followed swiftly, hiding himself in the shadows of the very same building. Sae sang another pigeon call, before settling to wait.

"Saezuri-sama!" The teen bounded on top of the same trashcan Sae had used, crouching as he looked around for her.

"Jin." Sae tittered, the boy's head snapping back to look at her, "You're late." She crashed down, landing on him with a tremendous crash and an foot in his gut. He coughed, holding his stomach as Sae rose, settling hands on her hips.

"Do you have to be so harsh?" Jin accused as he teetered to his feet, an eye squinted in irk.

"Hush!" Sae squashed down on his head with a bony hand, bringing his eyes down to her level, "We had you down to a single hoot, and now it takes two to find me? You've been slacking." Smartly, her eyes glowed as she cornered him.

"Alright! I wasn't exactly expecting you here, you know?" Jin cowered, used to her easy flaring. Thankful, he was glad to be directly under her and not Ituko however, the boss being infinitely more harsh than Saezuri.

"You've actually made use of the little whelp." Madara came forward, eyeing Jin. The boy had grown as tall as he, if not taller-- Madara watched the teen's face pale, his brown eyes darting between the Uchiha and Sae.

"You're fine. Stop freaking out." Sae quipped as she let go of Jin's head, feeling dwarfed as he rose back to his full height, raking a hand through his mid-length hair. She had made him cut it from the length it had been when Madara had taken the information from his mind two years ago, giving him a much more polished, un-suspicious look. "As for us, here's our in." Sae threw a thumb at Jin, looking up to Madara. She watched him chuckle, his eyes amused as he smirked at her.

"How so?" He asked darkly, taking delight in Jin's stutter.

"Oi, listen carefully." Sae flicked Jin's shoulder, making the teen advert his eyes from Madara down to her, "Find us the head governmental building. Take someone hostage if you must, but make a situation bad enough as to attract every guard's attention." Sae blinked, watching him cow away.

"I'm here on business for Ituko already, though." He protested, Sae rubbing her neck as she glanced away, thinking.

"Well, this is more important. She doesn't need anymore therapeutic sand." Sae brought her gaze back, aware from Jin's disgruntled look she had guessed right about his purpose, "And tell her to stop using my subordinates for such stupid errands. No wonder you've regressed in your skills." She snapped at him, the teen raising his hands in an effort for peace.

"Okay, I'll go do something." He grumbled, leaving them. Jin shoved his hands deep in his pockets as he rounded the corner back into the open street, a deep frown lining his young face.

"Are you sure he's going to be sufficient enough of a distraction?" Madara was skeptical as he stared after the boy.

"Jin knows what to do." Sae waved an airy hand, confident. "We've gone through this before, with much higher-stake items than low-security information." She waited for some time, keeping her peace as she leaned against the alley wall, Madara occupying himself with watching the faces of people that happened to glance down the alley to see the two of them. Some flashed curious, others fearful and apprehensive. Saezuri glanced up at the sky, figuring enough time had passed for Jin to get a decent headstart.

"Shall we?" Madara smirked as he offered a hand, Saezuri's small fingers twining through his.

"I do hope we find something." She said as they surfaced on the street, Madara easily tracking the boy's chakra towards the center of the city.

* * *

Thoughts?


	8. Chapter 8

Octopii won't write lemon scenes, because Octopii is a scary-faced prude who wears a chasity belt.  
No, not really. I'm actually an extremely dirty-minded person. ;D  
I just won't write about something that I know I'll muck up. So, yeah.

There's nothing much else...

Enjoy~

* * *

"Window or door, do you think?" Sae asked as she tightened her hold on Madara's hand, staring up at the tall building in front of them. Panic could be heard, Jin's somewhat deep voice yelling inside.

"Doesn't matter." Madara murmured as he let go of her hand, making a quick, casual seal-- a puff of dust obscured his figure, the revealed being much shorter and slimmer, with extremely angled features. Sae smiled slightly at the long length of sleek black hair that fell to his waist, amused.

"I miss it too." She quietly laughed, combing delicate fingers through the strands before using a henge, herself. Mouse brown hair tickled her collarbones, her facial features wide set and small. Saezuri looked nothing like herself, much shorter and curvy. Opening the glass double doors into the building, Madara shadowed her, content to let her work on her own devices.

"Miss, stay out of here!" A guard yelled at her, Jin holding a kunai to the man's neck. Saezuri only smiled slightly and kept walking, refusing to acknowledge she had heard.

"Oi, keep quiet!" Jin maliciously yelled, smacking the man in the temple with the blunt handle. As soon as she crossed into the next room, Sae was a whirlwind of motion, throwing open doors. Madara easily kept pace with her as she ran up a flight of stairs, helping search each hallway briefly.

"Saezuri." He called when he opened the door to a room filled with scrolls. Glancing down the shelves, he quickly figured out the organization system.

"Oh, perfect." Saezuri scoffed as she looked at Madara, knowing that to search the entire room would take days, if not weeks.

"The mission reports is what we want." He said, pointing to a relatively small bookcase, "Find any visiting Suna shinobi's reports, and skim for anything about a summon." Saezuri immediately went to work, throwing any useless scroll to the side, making a haphazard piles on the floor. Madara did the same as he sat cross legged next to her feet, working up from the bottom shelves.

"Na." Madara lightly hit Sae in the calf, drawing her attention, "Here." He held open the scroll, pinching where he wanted her to read.

"This will help?" She asked as she crouched by his side, hugging her knees as her eyes searched down the paper, comprehending little in her haste.

"Aa, let's go." He started grabbing and re-shelving the discarded scrolls, not caring about order. Saezuri gathered as many as she could in her arms, staggering over to the top shelf and shoving them all in. The faint yelling coming through the floor escalated, making her pause.

"I need to rescue Jin, it seems." Sae sighed, placing the last scroll. Drawing her katana, she darted from the room. Madara chuckled as he split from her in the hallway, going up towards the roof instead of following her down. Skidding to a wild stop before she crashed through the doors back into the lobby, Sae panted as she contemplated what to do. Flicking through seals, she first released her henge before using Toorima again, despite the risk to her energy.

"Who's there?!" One of the guards spun upon hearing the back door open, but saw nobody. A bead of sweat dripped down his temple as he glanced to his colleagues-- the two of them had Jin on the floor, defenseless against the kunai they had poised at the back of his spine. Saezuri slipped around and crouched under the guard that had his fist scrunched in the back of Jin's shirt, delicately twining her arms around the teen's narrow shoulders. She felt him jerk at her unseen touch, as she hurriedly pressing an invisible finger against his lips in warning to stay quiet. In a single, fluid moment she elbowed the guard in the chin, while jerking Jin out from his grasp. The man reeled as Saezuri slung Jin over her shoulder; running for the door, she shrieked as her momentum broke them both through the glass as the handle stuck, unexpectedly locked from the inside. They both smacked harshly into the street, rough cobblestone leaving angry trails of scratches across their skin.

"Ow, ow, ow..." Jin coughed as he rolled on the ground, looking around for Sae as he held his elbow in pain. Seeing that Toorima was still cloaking her, he began frantically patting the ground. Feeling a skinny joint, he hauled her up, unsure of whether he had her wrist or ankle. Stumbling when a kunai whizzed by from inside the building, Jin molded the little chakra he had control of and leapt up on top of a neighboring roof, stunned when a large hand hit onto the back of his head and shoved him down.

"Give her to me." Madara's voice was dangerous as he caught the shuriken that had been headed for Jin with a nimble snag, the weapon poised for use as he flipped it around under the teen's chin. The Uchiha frowned when Jin handed him her ankle, immediately recognizing her flesh even if he couldn't see it. Running his hands up over her torso in a blatant way that spoke of a familiarity that made Jin twitch slightly, Madara found and cupped her chin. "Saezuri." He tried, sharingan surfacing into his eyes; her skin pulsed blue, chakra still enforcing Toorima. Madara could see she was knocked out, eyes closed and her mouth hanging slack.

"Is she okay?" Jin scrambled up to his hands and knees, peering where he saw Madara's hands holding. The Uchiha scoffed as he shifted, abruptly winding back and firing a harsh backhand across Sae's face. Jin yelled in protest, gearing as if to attack Madara.

"Settle!" He snapped at the boy, sharingan glowing a furious red as they locked eyes.

"Fuck." Sae stirred, shakily putting her hands together to release Toorima, her vision quivering in shock. Spitting out a globule of blood, she narrowed her revealed eyes up at Madara. "Was that necessary?" She hauled herself up to her feet, wiping the back of her forearm across her dribbling lip.

"Saezuri-sama!" Jin also scrambled to his feet, his hands hovering as if unsure whether to touch her or not. His balance wobbled as he felt Madara's intense chakra flood over him, watching Saezuri clench her eyes closed. Understanding as the world twisted around him, Jin felt nauseous as the colors morphed darker, feeling his feet land upon stone a moment later.

"Shall we?" Madara gestured with the stolen scroll in his hand, towards the kitchen table. Saezuri nodded as she moved, thankful for the cold air inside of the base; Madara had taken them back to where they had set out from not two days earlier, on the border of the Fire Country.

"Jin, go fix yourself up. You can leave for Grass in the morning." Sae called back to him, aware of the deep scratches through his skin, glass in some of them.

"What about you?" The teen frowned, his eyes traveling up her figure, seeing all of the same marrings on her own body.

"Don't be a gentleman. Go." Sae flicked her hand nonchalantly, flashing the angry red scratches up its length. He only reluctantly went when she moved as if to force him, Madara's glare giving him further incentive.

"There's seems to be something about the village needing air surveillance." Madara pointed out as he spread the mission report across the table, Saezuri settling beside him.

"Yusuke Momojiro, it seems. This says he arrived on a large bird." Sae pointed out the scrawl of kanji, Madara nodding in agreement.

"Seems we have our target." He chuckled lowly, rolling the scroll back up casually. Saezuri moved to get a drink of water, a glint of a piece of glass in her skin catching Madara's attention. "Hold still." He murmured as he caught her arm, precise fingers pulling it out. Hunting other pieces, he inspected all the way up her wiry arm, later smoothing up the knee-length shorts she was wearing, following the trail of cuts and scratches up her thigh. A small pile of tiny glass shards accumulated on the table, glittering under her blood that coated them.

"Thanks." Sae smiled minutely as she turned to the sink. "Hnnn, stupid mistakes. I'm just going to be a walking mass of scar tissue soon." Sae sighed as she turned, raising the cup to her lips.

"You get used to it." Madara chuckled, taking the cup from her hand and setting it on the counter behind her. Threading his hands through her neck-length hair, he grinned as she giggled, the mark from where his knuckles had smacked visible at the corner of her mouth. Leaning forward and lightly kissing the blemish, Madara's eyes eased closed contentedly as she slipped her arms around his torso, fine hands spreading down into the small of his back. Sae buried her nose in the crook of his neck, Madara's masculine scent entirely familiar.

"Bandages?" She questioned as he pulled away, grabbing a thick roll of gauze from a cupboard.

"Those scratches will be infected easily if you don't take care of it now." He said as he handed the roll to her, helping her wrap it around her right arm and leg where all the scrapes were.

"It doesn't hurt so much now." Sae said lightly as she tip-toed to kiss Madara properly, happy when he pressed forward and caught one of her hands.

"Good." He said as he broke from her and trailed kisses down her neck, nipping sharply at her collarbone. Saezuri twitched at the jolt of pain, leaning back into the counter as she wrapped her arms around Madara's neck. He got a breezy chuckle when he moved to the taut skin behind her ear, Sae's hands threading up through his hair.

"Oof!" She huffed in surprise when he hauled her up against his chest, sweeping her feet from the floor and carrying her away easily, laughing all the while.

...

"Now I really look like I was mauled by a bear." Saezuri's voice was deadpan as she stood in front of the mirror hung on the wall in the morning, seeing the trail of bite marks and bruises ranging down her neck and shoulders. Her bare skin glowed dully as she turned to glance at Madara, his head propped up lazily on his elbow, exposed, scarred chest extending down into the blankets and sheets tangled around his legs.

"The perks of a turtleneck." Madara laughed lowly as he lurched up to sitting position with a flex of his abs. Scratch marks were visible clawing down his back, a fair share of bruising along his own collarbones baring itself. He moved to get dressed as Sae changed all her dressings up her right side, wrapping bandages around her breasts also. Slipping on her new favored sleeveless shirt, she frowned as it didn't cover much.

"Let me see one of those." Saezuri eyed Madara's sleek turtleneck as he pulled it over his head, his ruffled, messy hair making her smile slightly.

"Why are you so concerned?" He arched a brow at her, never having witnessed her being shy about her body.

"If Jin notices, he'll take it back to Ituko, who will hold it over my head until the day I die, the old hag." Sae mumbled off in one breath, irritated. She had once let it slip that she kissed Madara, and the cocky woman had immediately run off with the notion, mercilessly teasing Saezuri for weeks.

"Aa." Madara was amused as he threw one of his turtlenecks to her, Sae catching it with a nimble hand. Pinching the shoulder seams, she held up in front of her, skeptical.

"This is huge." She muffled through the material as she pulled it over her head, patting it down. Madara laughed charmingly as she raised her arms curiously, the sleeve ends hanging past her hands by nearly three inches. "I don't think this works." She tittered as she looked at her waist, the bunched cloth folding and gathering in excess.

"You look like a little schoolgirl." Madara commented as he stooped to slip on his sandals, crossing his arms comfortably as he straightened his spine. Saezuri flapped her hands, dully watching how the long sleeves fluttered.

"Well, I guess I shouldn't have to see Ituko for a long time. I doubt it matters." Sae sighed, stripping off the turtleneck and tossing it to the bed. Madara just ruffled her hair as he left out into the hallway, Sae rubbing the back of her neck as she reluctantly followed.

"Good morning~" Jin called sleepily as he caught sight of them, sipping at a cup of tea he had made while he lounged on the couch.

"Morning." Sae greeted as Madara swept by with not a word to the boy, disappearing in the kitchen. Jin blinked twice as Sae moved to collapse in the recliner to his left, his eyes catching the mottling of red and purple underneath her skin. A large muscle reflex had him flailing upright, making the connection.

"You-" He leaned forward disbelievingly as Sae pinched the bridge of her nose, cursing her charge's sharp attention to detail.

"Just hush." Saezuri murmured as she glanced up, seeing a flash of emotion across Jin's face: surprise, interest, betrayal.

"But you, him..." He glanced between her and the Uchiha's back he could see in the kitchen, frowning deeply.

"Yes, me and him. Together. Just leave it." Sae said as she waved a lofty hand in the air, eyes closed in irritation.

"I can't believe it." Jin ran a hand through his hair, blinking rapidly. Saezuri acutely watched the way his eyes dilated, smartly getting up and joining Madara in the kitchen.

"You may have just broken him." Madara lilted lightly as she leaned against his side, the faint perfume from her hair reaching him.

"Eh. He'll be okay. He's just a kid, anyhow." She glanced back, watching Jin dejectedly flop back into the couch from his ready position, an agitated hand scratching his temple.

"How cruel." Madara smirked as he glanced away, amused.

* * *

Thoughts~?


	9. Chapter 9

This continues straight on from where the last chapter left off. :D

Also, Jin is around 16-17 years old now, for those of you who wondered. And Saezuri is 21, of course.

Enjoy.

* * *

"I don't really want to go back." Jin commented as he dug in the old coffee table with a kunai, shaving away flakes of dry-rotted wood as he hunched forward. His eyes flicked over to rest on Sae who sat on the opposite end of the couch, curled into a small ball.

"And why not?" Saezuri arched a brow as she glanced up from the scroll she had in hand, having been reading further about the mission that had called Yusuke Momojiro to the border village. She stretched her leg out and nudged Jin's thigh with her big toe when he was unresponsive, knowing his aversion to feet. A wicked smile raised her lips when he shied away, his lip curling involuntarily.

"Ituko's nuts. She sends me out on all these crazy errands, as you can tell." He glanced back to the table as he carved an intricate swirl, absentmindedly forming a pattern in his irritation. "Not to mention that ever since you've been gone, she has this habit of pampering a servant and making them feel special and like they're the next big thing, before dumping them for whoever catches her attention next. It's all a sick game to her." He glanced up in surprise when Saezuri started laughing lightly, a hand held in front of her mouth meekly.

"I'm sorry. That shouldn't be funny." She tittered through her giggles, Jin's disbelieving face only increasing her mirth. "But that sounds like Ituko, alright." She choked out, forcing a straight face. She could vividly imagine the woman doting upon one of her anxious servants, only to crush them and watch with delight.

"It's like she's replacing you by adding even more insanity to everything. The other pit bosses all think she's off her rocker." Jin failed to notice the sharpening of Saezuri's eyes as she latched onto that information, thinking.

"Are they organizing without her?" Sae asked as she laid her scroll aside, grabbing her crossed ankles as she leaned forward.

"Huh? No, not that I've noticed..." Jin blinked at her sudden interest, watching her dark eyes drift to the ceiling.

"Have any 'leftovers' been sent to her lately?" She asked, referring to the system for servants the crime bosses all had between each other. Routinely they would exchange group of their underlings with another boss, keeping the faces fresh and keeping anybody from thinking they could revolt and tear their position away. It was a process born of paranoia, both between being betrayed to any kind of authority and between each other. Ituko was the one holding them all together as a cohesive working unit, all to Madara's benefit.

"Aa. Just before I left." Jin cocked his head, not making the connection that was occupying Sae's thoughts.

"Here's what I need you to do;" Saezuri leaned further forward, lowering her voice, "hurry back and keep an eye on all the bosses. I want to know who they talk to, when, and why." Jin's eyes grew in surprise, starting to catch the hint of what she was suggesting. "I'll come for a visit sometime in the next few weeks. I want all this information ready to be presented to me in a fast, concise manner." She narrowed her eyes, expressing importance upon Jin. "_Don't_ tell Ituko either. I don't care what she threatens, don't tell her your purpose or goal, and especially not the fact that I'm coming back briefly."

"Is there something going on?" Jin was stunned, eyeing Saezuri. He had only seen her so focused twice in his life: once when he had nearly been killed by a patrol officer, and once when Ituko had crossed a line that he hadn't caught or understood, only comprehending the blond woman drawing her katana with a featherlight flourish, pointing the tip under Ituko's chin in a blatant warning. The older woman had laughed manically, but backed down nonetheless.

"Maybe, maybe not." Sae said vaguely, glancing away as she relaxed back into the arm of the sofa. "We won't really know until you complete your job, no?" She grinned lightly, back to the same nonchalant woman Jin knew her for-- he furrowed his brows as he studied her, wondering how she was so alluring to him. He had been there through the many months Ituko had quartered her on and off, had seen Sae saunter inside banks and come away with sacks of money, laughing devilishly while police pursued her, always evaded and left stumped as she seemingly vanished. And he had alternatively seen her slouched inside musty jail cells, being the prime candidate Ituko often chose to go break or bail her out, Saezuri always having a kind of unbreakable spirit as she would pass the guards with her chin up, refusing to cower under their harsh gazes as she was freed. Jin supposed he admired that, his own will not so strong that he didn't flinch under the faintest whiff of power.

"I suppose I should be starting out then." He said as he rose to his feet, thudding the knife in his hand into the coffee table carelessly. He was loathe to go; Sae had literally saved him, brought him up from Ituko's lowest rank of _slaves_ practically, and into the temperamental woman's inner circle. Sometimes he hated Saezuri for it-- Jin put up with more absurdity and fussiness than he ever had in his life, yet he wasn't so vulnerable, now. Sae had taught him how to survive in the world he had been sold out into when Madara had caught him as a young child.

"Take care!" Saezuri chirped as she waved him away, not dwelling over his departure as he vanished from her sight. Jin knew that he didn't mean much to her- that is, that he could never compare to Madara. His fist clenched slightly as he navigated the cool hallways on his way out, knowing he would never be able to do much more than enjoy the slight mentor-type attitude she had towards him, and carve out the best place he could at Ituko's side.

...

"He left?" Madara questioned as he came upon Saezuri interestedly tracing something on the coffee tabletop, her lips curling slightly when she saw him.

"Yeah. Not even twenty minutes ago." She shrugged, glancing back to the wood her fingers were touching lightly, "He's quite an artist, actually. This is marvelous." The swirling he had carved was fine in detail, as well as being aesthetically pleasing.

"Hmph." Madara scoffed as he looked down, uninterested.

"Can we start out for Suna now?" Sae asked as she noted the shift in his mood, changing the subject.

"Exactly why I came for you, m'dear." Madara said ironically as he tossed a thick black cloak to her.

"Won't this be unbearably hot?" Sae asked as she rose from her seat, fingering the plush fabric. She clasped it over her shoulders, noting the deep hood settling around her neck.

"It will keep you cool, actually. And the sand stays out." Madara chuckled as he flipped his own hood, offering a hand to Saezuri. She clasped her fingers in his, frowning at the pull in her gut as Madara warped them away.

"Gyeh!" Sae choked as she felt her balance teeter, her eyes flying open to see herself on the very thin edge of a cliff as Madara tightly held onto her elbows, her shoulder uncomfortably flush into his chest. "Why here!?" She asked bewilderedly, easing away from him as she fueled chakra into her hands and feet, cautiously keeping a hand glued to the wall behind her.

"It's the only place I could accurately remember." He chuckled as he glanced down, the sand level being quite a drop away. "Unless you wanted to end up half-formed and spliced between two different locations?" He raised a sarcastic brow at her, chuckling at the indignant flash that crossed her face.

"No thanks." Sae murmured as Madara jumped from the cliff, following him a second later. She skimmed a hand down the cliffside as she went, chakra pulling away at her momentum. Not as bold as Madara, who landed simply with a quiet pat with no cushioning whatsoever, Saezuri felt her heels reverberate as she stumbled to a stop, sand instantly trenching itself inside her open-toed sandals. She ticked her tongue at the feeling, instantly irritated and missing the luxury of her closed-toe boots. She definitely was missing them now.

"See that?" Madara touched her shoulder as he pointed, a dark speck on the horizon. Shielding her eyes against the sun, Saezuri squinted, barely making it out.

"What is it?" She questioned, confused. Madara smirked as he strode forward, flicking a plant fiber from his sleeve.

"A falcon." She could hear the amusement in his voice as she stared at the tiny speck, curious as to how he could tell.

"Really? Then-" She stared at his back, blinking. "You knew this was here! Why did we have to deal with the border village?"

"This was merely a lucky guess. It's the only spot near Suna that would provide enough food for such a kind of bird." He gestured to the speck, another joining the first. They spiraled around each other, while Sae frowned.

"Maa, it doesn't matter." She sighed, dismissing the topic. "What can I offer as payment to get on the contract?" She wondered out loud, stumbling lightly when a strong gust of wind and carried sand buffeted her.

"Payment?" Madara glanced back at her, slightly surprised; Sae blinked, suddenly understanding.

"No, you're not mind-controlling them." She pinched the bridge of her nose, aware of Madara's scoff. "I don't want them turning on me for enslaving them to me. I want an honest bond." She went on, shifting to squint up at the two birds- they were close enough now that she could see that they were huge, their small size a result of the extremely high altitude.

"_Screeee_!" Flinching at the fierce call, Saezuri whipped in surprise just in time to see Madara lunge past her, her cloak and hair flying from his burst of energy as he caught the dive-bombing bird's outstretched talons and twisted his arm in such a way that the animal was stuck at his mercy, hanging upside down and blinking large eyes at the both of them. Madara hoisted the falcon higher, the bird's lax wing tips just dimpling the sand as he held it upside-down.

"Who are you, humans?" The bird questioned as Madara flipped him upright to perch on his arm in a familiar, expert move, which had Saezuri raising a brow. The falcon was content to sit, seeing that they were not being hostile.

"I want a summoning contract." Sae bluntly stated, watching the bird blink large glassy eyes. She was amazed at its size-- it was like a dog, easily the size of Sae's torso if not larger.

"You'll have to see the Great One." The falcon clacked his beak, raising his wings. Madara ducked his head out of the way of the bird's massive wingspan, thrusting his arm up and giving the falcon an easy lift into the sky. Screeching once as he wheeled away, the falcon easily soared up to the point where Sae's eyes strained to recognize his tiny speck.

"Shall we?" Madara asked as he gestured onward, crags jutting out of the sand visible on the orange horizon. Saezuri nodded sharply, pulling her cloak tighter as she trekked through the sand after him, curious as to how the 'Great One' would be.

* * *

Thoughts?


	10. Chapter 10

Not much to say here.  
Well, remember the crime boss Madara killed back in Sparrow? That's important.

* * *

Saezuri carefully kept her face guarded as she follow a step behind Madara, weaving through the huge juts of rock towering over them as various sized falcons came and went, some perched and scrutinizing them with a dangerous air. She froze in alarm when they crossed a small threshold, Madara's shoulders seizing up as he halted. Glancing back with sharingan eyes, his gaze was murderous as he searched out the arch of rock they had passed under.

"Who are you?" A carefully controlled voice came from far above, Saezuri's neck snapping back as she dodged a volley of over-sized kunai. The knifes embedded themselves deep in the sand as she stuck her flip, sandals digging deep as she drew her katana with a slick _snict_.

"Likewise could be asked of yourself." Madara's voice was humorous as he stared down the shadow of a human figure above their head, Sae on guard as she straightened from her crouch. She tensed when a small man dropped between her and Madara, a Suna protector tied around his forehead. He was oddly familiar, something ringing in Saezuri's memory that she couldn't catch grasp of.

"Rouge shinobi, aa?" He cautiously assessed them with deep brown eyes, while Sae jolted. She supposed..... that that did describe her. A rouge shinobi. She had never thought of it that way, never seen herself as dangerous to the shinobi nations.

"Mo-chan? What is it?!" Another sand shinobi flew down to his side, a mask covering their features. Just from voice alone Saezuri could tell it was a woman, an unskilled one at that. Her clumsy movements and loud arrival told as much.

"Yusuke Momojiro." Sae stated as she let her guard go lax, the tip of her katana pooling in the sand by her feet. Smiling slightly, she sheathed her sword while watching the confusion play out on the man's face.

"What do you want?" He was guarded as Sae spread her hands, showing she meant no harm.

"One, I have news of your brother," She saw his eyes light with interest as she held up a long finger, "two, I want on this summoning contract." She circled her finger, Momojiro frowning heavily.

"Not possible." He cut her off, pressing the masked woman at his side behind him, bringing his hands together for a seal. Saezuri clicked her tongue in disdain as she matched his pace forming hand signs, disappearing with Toorima a fraction of a second before he released a large gust of wind.

"Can we talk now?" Saezuri asked as she got behind him and ripped the woman away, holding her katana against the struggling girl's throat. Momojiro whipped around to see his companion kicking at thin air, her head wrenched back and her hands clutching something long and invisible pressed against her neck.

"Tsune!" He moved to help her, skipping to a stop when Sae hauled up harder, dragging the girl back a fraction in warning. "What's the news about my brother?" Momojiro asked cautiously, frowning when Saezuri laughed.

"We'll talk about that second. I need this summoning contract, first." She called, twitching when Tsune managed to kick her shin. Readjusting her grip, Sae fought not to clutch at her bruised bone, keeping her attention on Momojiro. Behind him, she could see Madara leaning against a rock pillar, watching with a lazy sort of interest.

"B-bitch." Tsune coughed out as she tried to elbow Sae in the head, failing miserably; her short frame was at a disadvantage against Saezuri's tall, lean one.

"Look, I'll cut you a deal." She spoke to both of the sand shinobi, relaxing her hostile grip on Tsune, "The girl can go free, and I'll tell you everything about your brother. Just let me see this 'Great One'."

"Fine." Momojiro said unhappily, Tsune coughing harshly as Sae removed herself. She let Toorima go, chuckling when Tsune jumped and scrambled away at her close proximity. Saezuri was prepared when the small woman leapt at her with a kunai, easily catching her wrist and discarding the knife. With a blink, Saezuri was suddenly irked by Tsune's covered face, flicking the bone mask off with a finger.

"Oh, how pretty." Sae traced the girl's fine jaw, her features petite and pointed, the picture of feminine delicacy. Tsune growled and threw her free hand in a punch, one that Sae caught easily.

"Let her go. You agreed." Momojiro called, poised to intervene. Glancing up, Sae met the man's brown eyes, grinning in amusement.

"She started it." She said lightly as she let the small woman go abruptly, letting Tsune stumble forward in surprise and fall into the sand. Flicking her cloak black into place, Sae glanced at Madara, aware of his quiet chuckling. He flicked his hand for her to go on, Saezuri's dark eyes laughing as she looked back to Momojiro.

"I'm not making any guarantees with the Great One. He's ill disposed to any non-Suna shinobi." The man grumbled, Tsune shadowing his side as she brushed sand from her brown clothing, glaring at Sae all the while.

"About your brother, then." Sae settled to business, watching the way Momojiro's face darkened.

"I know he settled in Grass. Other than that, I haven't heard from him in years." Sae nodded at the information he volunteered.

"Well, he resorted to crime there." She carefully gauged his expression, wondering how best to go on, "The woman that I stayed with for some time rose to his position after he was murdered." She flicked her gaze to Madara, his smirk enough to make her cheeks heat, knowing that it was their direct fault that Momojiro's brother was dead. She could still remember the small, suave boss, his brown eyes, even. Momojiro was a mirror, albeit with minor differences-- Sae wondered if they had been twins.

"I see." His voice was flat as he glanced to the sand, thinking. "Well, it can't be helped." Momojiro sighed heavily, Sae noticing how Tsune laid a hand on his shoulder.

"And the Great One?" Madara strode forward, unabashed even though he had been the one to plunge the decorational katana into Momojiro's brother's stomach.

"The top of the crags. There's a large nest, you'll notice." The small man offered, surprised when Sae abruptly leapt up with a small spurt of chakra, disappearing from sight. Madara followed after her without the barest farewell to the Suna shinobi, leaving them staring up, slightly disturbed.

"This bird better be agreeable." Sae grumbled as Madara caught up to her side, her hand rubbing her shin where Tsude had kicked her.

"Well, if not, it's no problem." He chuckled, sharingan still present in his eyes.

"I'd rather not resort to that, though." She sighed, landing with a quiet _tak_ on top of the rock. The sky was open, orange-tinted sand stretching as far as her eye could see in all directions.

"Humans?" A deep, trilling voice questioned, Saezuri whipping around to see the largest living being she had ever laid eyes on; a tremendous falcon was perched in a nest the size of a house, various other smaller falcons coming and going, adding twigs and molding its shape.

"Are you the Great One?" Saezuri rose her thin voice over the wind, a chill crawling up her spine as the falcon blinked slowly, staring at her as if she was mentally handicapped.

"Why do you ask?" The bird breezed, shifting slightly.

"I want to ask for your services." Sae dipped into a bow, Madara remaining upright beside her. The falcon hummed deep in his throat as he fixed glossy eyes on her, seemingly thinking.

"And what do we get in return?" The bird rumbled, sharp eyes fixated on Sae's back, "You humans use us in your wars. And many of us die. What makes that justifiable?"

"I will always make sure my summons are safe." Sae protested, straightening her spine as she brought her eyes up, staring the huge falcon down, "I'd never throw them into wild combat." She held her ground as the bird studied her for long minutes, unwilling to look away first.

"I can see you're an honest one." The falcon chuckled as he lifted a giant talon, touching the top of Sae's head with the razor sharp point, "I'll let you sign with us." A few strand of blond fluttered to Saezuri's feet as the bird retracted its foot, shifting as a large scroll appeared in front of Saezuri with a pouf of dust. With barely contained energy, she slit her thumb and scrawled the kanji of her name next to the most recent summoner, Yusuke Momojiro.

"Thank you!" Sae bowed once more to the bird as the scroll de-summoned itself.

"Who will I give to you...." The falcon murmured to itself as he stretched a mammoth wing, obscuring half the sky with dappled brown flight feathers, "I'll entrust you with my own son." The Great One cocked his head at Saezuri, "He's 32nd in line should I die, but I treasure him all the same. I'll have your head if he gets killed." Sae swallowed as she nodded.

"The name's Sen." A falcon swooped up to hover in front of her on the jut of rock, his dark eyes bright with charisma, "You humans are always so easily startled. Not to mention flabby, I do wonder how you don't freeze to death without any feathers." The bird chattered as he landed on the edge, massive talons clutching at the rock. His head topped Saezuri's, his girth many times larger than her own waist.

"Ah- hi. Nice to meet you." Sae said, blinking when Sen stooped, laying his head near her feet.

"Well go on, get up here. Let's go for a fly." Sae glanced at Madara at the notion, his raised brow mirror her own thoughts. She hesitantly climbed onto the falcon's back, unsure of where to hold and nervous under the Great One's heavy stare. "You too, you too." Sen bobbed his head as he looked at Madara, the Uchiha raising a halting hand.

"I'd rather not." Saezuri frowned at him, shrieking when Sen fell off the side of the crag in a free fall. Her hands fisted in the downy feathers of his neck as his wings opened minutely, darting between two close cuts of rock before he was soaring out over open sand.

"Holy-" Sae squeezed her eyes shut as Sen flared his wings, buoying them up several hundred feet as a gust of warm wind fronted them, increasing their speed twofold. The crags were just a small darkened spot when Saezuri glanced back, her stomach churning.

"Enjoying yourself?" The falcon shreed over the wind, looping in a spiral as his talons flared out. A single, sharp eye appeared as he craned his head back, meeting Saezuri's wide, anxious gaze. "Maa, you'll get used to it. I'll take you back." He hunched his shoulders, gliding down gently in lazy circles. Madara stuck out at the bottom of the rocks, his black cloak bold against the sand. Sen landed in a flurry, wings kicking up sand before he dipped down, Saezuri losing grip in his feathers and rolling off, sprawling ungracefully. Madara strode forward and offered a gloved hand to her, his fingers strong as they wrapped around her wrist. He pulled Sae to her feet with a small tug, laughing when she shook her windblown hair out, the strands voluminous and at odd angles.

"Later, Sen." Saezuri called as the bird leapt back into the sky, scooting away with a quick flap of his wings. She glanced at Madara as she fixed the way her cloak lay on her shoulders, smiling when he pulled her close. His arms were warm around her back as she buried her nose in the crook of his neck, for once not bothered by the way the world warped around them.

* * *

Oooo, where did they go? What's with Ituko?  
I'm so terrible. Next chapter should be following soon, possibly tonight. No promises, though.

Thoughts?


	11. Chapter 11

Well, enjoy!

* * *

Saezuri stirred cautiously under Madara's arm in the dark of the night, glancing at his face as she delicately slipped from his hold. His angular features were slack, eyelids quivering slightly as she tucked his arm back over his chest, holding her breath as he shifted. Backing out of the room with bare feet, her skin was noiseless against the wood. Snatching up her black cloak, Saezuri tucked it under her arm as she slid open the screen door out onto the tiny balcony, dropping over the railing without the slightest usage of chakra, knowing it would rouse Madara. Landing on the grass two stories below, she tucked into a harsh roll, feeling her skeleton smush uncomfortably out of alignment for a moment. Crouching in the grass as she came to a stop, Sae glanced back up at the balcony, happy to see the darkened room motionless and undisturbed. Stealing away, she traveled for nearly ten minutes, making sure to track outwards in the surrounding wilderness; the house Madara had warped them to was vacant, and in the figurative middle of nowhere. She had found various symbols of riches throughout the building when she had explored briefly, deducing that the house must have belonged to a very well-off family.

"Kuchiyose!" Saezuri hissed quietly as she pressed her hand against the ground, a small smattering of blood coating her fingers from the slit she had made across her forearm.

"So soon?" Sen asked as he stepped out of the smoke, ruffling the fine feathers on his head. He glanced around with glossy eyes the size of both of Saezuri's fists, noting the fine details of the terrain. "No companion, either?"

"I didn't bring you out to ask questions." Sae murmured as she rose to her feet, touching a hand to the silky feathers on Sen's breast. "I need a ride to Grass' capitol. I have some colleagues that I need to sort out."

"Ah. This does not sound like a happy affair." Sen lightly joked as he dipped down, letting Sae climb up onto his back.

...

Saezuri touched down on top of Grass' governmental building, the tallest in the city. She could hear Sen's feathers whistling lowly as he swooped away while she dropped down the side of the wall; chakra fused her to the rough stone, slowing her decent towards the gritty cobblestone streets. Feeling familiar with the landscape, Saezuri immediately took off when her standard sandals touched the ground. Stealing through side streets, she caught glimpses of the main, busy section, alive with lights and night goers. She had once been part of that crowd with a drunk Ituko on her shoulder oftentimes. At the thought, Sae felt a small pang hit her, longing for those rowdy, unpredictable evenings. Shaking it off, she snuck through the back door of a restaurant, unseen by the single cook and easily blending through the seating area, emerging out onto the street she wanted. The moon was high in the sky as she slid open a large window in a neighboring house, easily crawling inside. Broken glass glittered on the floor of the dark room she touched down into, wadded paper and other trash strewn about. Sae pressed out into the hall, various people coming and going-- it wasn't really a house, but more of a drug factory.

"Here for a fix, girly?" A grizzled addict laughed, his hair scarce upon his head. Sae glanced out at him from underneath her hood, glaring.

"Where's Saburo?" She asked, making the man recoil.

"How do you know that name?" His eyes grew as she faced him fully, getting into his face.

"Where?" She ignored the man's fetid breath, his few teeth showing themselves as his cracked lips parted.

"Last room." He pointed down the hall unsteadily, startled when Saezuri whisked out her katana as she moved to pass him.

"What ever happened to discretion?" Sae called as she nudged open the door with her foot, dully observing Saburo. He was seated at the end of a low table, two of his underlings counting money out, "There's far too many people in here at once. Ituko gave you a limit of five at a time." She shifted, Saburo's eyes shooting to the katana in her hand, light glinting off its honed surface.

"To hell with that madwoman." He spit off to the side, staring at her with a hostile expression, "We're taking the city. The cops are already far too overwhelmed." Sae frowned heavily, tracking in the room further. She noted one of the assistant's gaze dart to her nervously, his hands tweaking when she met his eyes.

"This place has gone to shambles." Sae sighed quietly as she flicked her katana up to rest on Saburo's forehead. The point dug into his flesh as he stared her down, hard eyes daring her to act. "Go back to lying low. If I hear otherwise, there'll be consequences to answer to."

"You're not the boss around here." Saburo snapped, meeting her glare easily.

"In the stead of Ituko, I am." Saezuri cut him off sharply, increasing the pressure on his forehead. She saw a flicker of fear through Saburo's eyes as a trickle of blood threaded its way down the bridge of his nose, dropping with a plop to the table that was easily heard in the silence of the room. Both of the underlings kept their gazes adverted, deathly still to ward off catching any attention.

"I refuse." Saburo said stiffly, Sae's eye twitching in irk. A tremor of rage rose the fine hairs on her arms, irritated to no end with the lowly drug dealer.

"You can be easily replaced. Any one of these underhands would be scrambling for your position." She lowered her voice, stepping a foot onto the table and leaning forward, inches from his face. "Better to just listen and keep this ease of living, no? And save us both the trouble?" She cocked her head, tone turning patronizing. It was the best way to deal with the hierarchy assembled under Ituko, she had found, the leaders often arrogant and unaccepting of her.

"Just get out." Saburo hissed at her as she retracted her sword, straightening with a scowl.

"When I come back, there better not be so much activity here." She slipped her arm back inside the warmth of her heavy cloak, slamming the door on the way out. Collecting herself as she jogged down the rickety stairs, Saezuri calmed her frazzled nerves as she stepped out into the night air. Glancing towards the colorful lights lining the street, she moved towards the center of the city, gaining no notice from the citizens.

"Ai!" Sae darted forward as the fake shopfront of Ituko's came into view, the small serving girl seemingly lost on the step outside, looking down the street warily.

"Saezuri-sama!" The twelve year old gasped lightly when she caught sight of Sae, her small feet hitting the cobblestone as she stepped forward.

"Why are you outside?" Sae asked as she glanced Ai up and down, noting the scuff mark on the girl's cheek, as if she had been hit.

"Ituko-sama got angry with me and turned me out for the night." Ai mumbled, blushing heavily.

"What did you do?" Sae asked as she combed her fingers through Ai's feathery hair, crouching down to be on eye-level.

"I washed her kimonos in the wrong order." Ai sniffed, fighting not to break down. Saezuri frowned as she cast her eyes down, thinking.

"Go back inside, Ai. Take a bath, go to bed. I'll take care of it." Sae pressed on the girl's shoulders as she followed her up the steps, on guard as she came into the atrium of the base.

--------------

Madara stirred while it was still dark out, aware of Saezuri's absence. He sat up further, sharingan glowing dimly as he searched out her chakra-- seeing nothing, a deep frown pulled at his face. Gliding from underneath the bed-covers, he was dressed in a matter of seconds. His mood darkened further when he noted her katana and other effects gone, tipping him off to the fact she had left by her own will. Madara tugged on his shoes as he prepared to check every city, determined to find his errant charge.

Angry would be a very, _very_ large understatement.

* * *

Thoughts? (:


	12. Chapter 12

I nearly died reading the latest manga.

Oh Madara, what you do to me...

And, AKATSUKIIIIII! I'm so happy~! LOOOOVEEEEEE.

Anywho. Onwards, ho-!

* * *

Saezuri stilled as she peeked through the door she had cracked, into Ituko's chambers. The woman was sprawled out across her dais, her black hair splayed everywhere in disarray. Frowning at the heavier scent than normal of the tobacco Ituko was burning in her long pipe, Sae pulled away and whisked down the hall, sure now that she could move without accidentally running into the older woman.

"Tell me what you got." She said as she leaned up against the doorframe into Jin's meager room, the teen lazing on top of his futon. Starling in surprise, he locked brown eyes with her as he flew up.

"Geeze, I thought you were Ituko for a moment." He sighed in relief, a brow creeping up Saezuri's forehead.

"Is she really that much of a terror?" She thought back to Ituko nestled in the pillows on her platform, not making the connection.

"You have no idea. Not to mention she gets jacked on opium and is even worse." Jin blinked when Sae narrowed her eyes, wary of her mood.

"Opium?" The altered scent of the tobacco Ituko had been smoking suddenly made sense, Sae craning her head back to glance down the hall.

"Yeah, opium." Jin said dismissively, as if it were the norm. Saezuri shook her head in disdain as she glanced back at the younger man, "Anyway, I've figured out what you asked. Asura has everything in order still, but Yuuta and Takuya are both starting to lean away and defy Ituko." He scoffed, looking down, "She doesn't even notice. It's gotten rough around here, that's for sure."

"You're sure it's only Yuuta and Takuya?" Sae asked as she picked at one of her fingernails, idle gaze on Jin.

"Asura has been completely normal. She even tried to give Ituko advice once, but that didn't go over well." Saezuri nodded at that, relieved. Asura held the bulk of the syndicate under her control, nearly half of the various gangs answering directly to her. Yuuta and Takuya however, had most of the thieving underlings, the most important faction that kept the underground organization running. Without them, Ituko would be scrabbling for money to keep certain authorities bribed and everyone fed, most of the servants and low criminals coming from the streets, homeless and desperate.

"I'll take care of it. Also, while Ituko's sedate go and get rid of any stashes of opium." Jin stood as she left the room, following her out while rubbing the back of his neck. Pausing in the hallway and glancing after her, he was slightly intimidated to see her pull out her katana, black cloak swishing slightly as she turned the corner, out of sight.

* * *

"You've not seen her?" Madara questioned dully as he leaned against the counter in a small shop, disinterestedly looking down on the small man. The tailor wrung his hands, a bead of sweat dripping down his temple.

"Not since you two came in here for clothes for your daughter, years ago." He said, cowing back when Madara slid his eyes closed, lips firming. "I-if I may ask, has something happened?" The tailor boldly asked, remembering the blonde woman that had come into his shop. Studying Madara's cropped hair and bad attitude, he could deduce that things had changed rather dramatically.

"Nothing to concern you." Madara warded him off, abruptly leaving the shop. Glancing up into the just rising sun, he paused in the street; he had already checked the brothel and surrounding town Saezuri had come from, and now this small town held no answers either. Looking down the road, Madara was reminded of the week they had stayed here, Sae just a fledgling then. He almost chuckled remembering how polite and shy of him she had been, and her nervous habits she since discarded. He almost missed them, but it was the price to pay if he wanted her to survive by his side.

It all mattered for nothing though, if he couldn't find her.

* * *

"I can't let you in." A very large, burly man stated as he barred Sae's way into a shabby building, his arms crossed as he stared her down.

"And why not?" She demanded, katana tip clinking against the cobblestone street below her feet-- Takuya was inside, she knew, and it pissed her off that she was being denied. The smaller bosses _knew_ that she was directly by Ituko's side, and to deny her was to deny Ituko. Rebellion, in effect.

"Orders." The man said stiffly, unaffected when Sae stepped forward. Her head barely topped his collarbones, her thin physique painfully obvious against his muscled girth.

"You do realize that you are going against this organization right now?" She cocked a brow, twitching slightly when he said nothing, looking like a statue. Finally pushed to her limit, Sae took a large step back and lashed out with her katana, hoping to scare him out of the way. Most underlings scattered as soon as she moved violently, knowing of her shinobi training. The man however, just caught her blade between two meaty hands harmlessly, dully looking at her. Sae hauled all her strength into pressing down, but was ousted when he flung the sword to the side, Saezuri lurching off balance. He made no move against her as she had expected, instead just standing readily in her way, eyes blatantly declaring that she would not pass.

"Fine." Sae sheathed her katana and gave the man her middle finger as she walked away, incensed. She would come back, for sure-- when he was least expecting it, and he wouldn't even _see_ her. The sun tipping the tops of the buildings gave the city a hazy look as she wandered the main street, heading towards the west side of the city. Her nerves calmed as she inhaled the morning air, hoping Yuuta would be less difficult to deal with. She came to a better-kept building, the windows clean and the neighborhood a middle-class, respectable area. Saezuri easily got inside, the door unguarded and the front room empty, void of everything except a few wall decorations. Wandering deeper, she breezed through a variety of halls, seeing no one.

"Oh my, a visitor!" She turned upon the light voice, seeing an effeminate man standing in a doorway, hands pressed together cheerfully. "Do come in!" He stepped back, sweeping in a welcoming hand. Sae cautiously entered the room, noting that she and Yuuta were the same height-- this was her first time actually seeing the man, as he preferred to keep a low profile and send servants to do his work.

"Where is everyone?" Sae asked as he sat on one of the cushions on the floor, sipping at a mug of tea.

"Sit first." He pointed to the pillow across from him, courteously waiting until she had settled to continue, "Tayu and Dai, my two littlest ones, are still sleeping in. The other four servants are enjoying their usual mid-week morning off that I allow them, and Genji's and Goro's thieves are out lying low." Yuuta cocked his head, his long brown hair tied up with stray strands falling about his soft face, "What more do you wish of us, Saezuri-sama?" Sae shrewdly observed him, trying to look past his soft exterior.

"And what of Ituko? Have you not been disobeying her?" Saezuri asked, watching him look down.

"She wants things that are harmful to my staff. I can't oblige." He shrugged, his plain kimono parting slightly to reveal the smooth skin of his chest.

"I'll take care of her. Just start following orders again, else some actions are going to have to be taken." Sae heavily stated, watching Yuuta blanch.

"Please, Saezuri-sama, she asked impossible things. I'm afraid I can't agree." He held his ground, determined green eyes flashing up. He studied her dark eyes, her pale blonde hair, looking for a shred of sympathy. He only found a kind of flat denial, unswayed by his words.

"You'll have to. Ituko will be taken care of, like I said." Sae flicked a piece of hair out of her face, the feathery strands having turned unruly upon growing out to her collarbones.

"We'll see." Yuuta murmured as she rose to her feet, following behind her to show her out. Saezuri's black cloak blended into the sea of commuters in the street, Yuuta quickly losing sight of her. He shook his head as he went back into his estate, hearing small feet pattering the wood floors. Smiling as Dai came rushing out, Yuuta ruffled the child's hair as he moved to go count the suitcases of stolen yen that had been delivered last night.

* * *

"Why, Uchiha-sama!" Reika called cheerfully as she stood from the porch of the daimyo's estate, impeccably dressed in a spring kimono. She jogged down the steps, pulling up at the length of silk delicately as she danced to a stop in front of Madara, looking up hopefully. She noted his sharingan flicking across the grounds, searching something out "No blonde brat, I see." Reika smoothed coyly, touching his chest.

"You haven't seen her?" Madara asked flatly, unaccommodating as Reika slid her attentions up, cupping his face with her plump, soft hands.

"Who needs her? If she's gone, then I'm happy, Uchiha-sama." She purred, flinching in surprise when Madara gripped a single, tenuous hand around her neck. He cocked an arched brow at her fear, a cruel smirk lining his lips.

"I'm afraid I cannot have such a coward by my side." He smoothed, malicious as he locked glittering eyes with Reika's own. She stuttered in surprise as he chuckled, disappearing with a small swirl and a noise like a popped bubble. Disbelieving, she cautiously waved an arm through the air in front of her, frowning when she realized Madara was really gone. Another thought occurred to Reika, one that had her stilling in a begrudged wonderment; what exactly did Saezuri withstand from that man?

* * *

"I couldn't find any of the opium." Jin sullenly said as Saezuri leaned against the wall to his left, biting through the skin of an apple. Mid-afternoon she had returned, sporting a better attitude and a rumbling stomach.

"Show me her tobacco." Sae said as she swallowed a chunk of apple, the somewhat off-kilter taste alerting her that it was not fresh-- another testament that Ituko was not taking proper care of her position. Fresh food was always kept inside the base. _Always_.

"We'll have to avoid her, then. Last I looked, she was in the bathhouse yelling about something." Jin moved, Sae following him quietly as she glanced up at the ceiling, wondering how Madara had reacted to her absence. In foresight, she was apprehensive about not mentioning the situation here, in Grass. But she knew he would not have let her go, instead merely allowing whoever to take power. He wouldn't have cared if there was an underground revolution within the ranks, as long as they stayed productive to him-- however, it hit closer to home to Sae. She had spent long months with Ituko, and she hated to see the woman so degenerated.

"Ah-! Wait." Sae halted abruptly, swinging open a door and disappearing inside the dark room. Rummaging through the few boxes on the floor, she used the light from the hallway to fish out two boots, slipping out of her standard sandals and pulling them on with glee. The closed, fitted material felt phenomenal on her feet. The boots didn't mesh so well with the black knee-length shorts she had kept, but Saezuri couldn't really be bothered. Jin blinked as she walked out, before resuming down the hall. Cautiously glancing around the corner, he was relieved to see the next hall empty, waving Saezuri inside a nearby room.

"In those boxes, there. I didn't see anything like opium." He pointed to three wooden chests, each barely the size of one of Sae's spread hands and just as shallow. Opening the lid to one, she glanced inside to just see shredded brown tobacco. Frowning, she went to the others to find the same, nothing even remotely looking like opium. Pinching a bit out of the last box, her eyes lit with understanding as she rubbed it between her fingers.

"It's mixed in. I wouldn't be surprised if Ituko is being drugged against her will." Saezuri flicked the strands of tobacco back into the box with contempt, shaking her head.

"What do we do then?" Jin looked to her, watching Sae dither uncertainly.

"Go throw it in the kitchen fires." She set the boxes in his hands, watching him pause on the threshold.

"What about you?" He asked, concerned as she flicked a nonchalant hand.

"Don't worry. I have other people to...attend to." She said grimly, parting from him in the hallway. The street was bright as she descended down to the cobblestone from a side door, forming handseals as she went. Disappearing with the familiar rush of Toorima, Saezuri headed for Takuya's once more, determined to accomplish what she meant to this time.

* * *

Thoughts?

Don't worry, shippuden times will be coming soon enough.


	13. Chapter 13

Anybody else think that Kabuto is just fodder to be eaten by Madara?

OMNOMNOM.

* * *

Sae stepped from a small, crumbling alleyway, looking to the front of the decrepit building she had just skirted-- the large man still stood in front of the shabby door, shifting on his feet restlessly. Cocking her head, she stepped forward, brand new boots silent upon the dirty cobblestone as she reached back to pull her katana from its sheath. Rushing forward, Saezuri tucked the blade against her arm as she jumped, hanging the air for a moment as she thrust forward, knocking the man in the temple neatly. With barely a choked noise he crumpled, falling with a loud smack to the stone. With one glance Sae assured he was unconscious, before swinging open the door and slipping inside quickly, flattening her back against the inside as she stilled, allowing her eyes to adjust to the dim lighting. Pressing slim fingers together, she dispelled Toorima, head swimming as her chakra dropped. Stealing through the narrow, lopsided halls, Sae discarded stealth as she let her feet hit the floor hard, sharp clacks clearly audible. Gripping a staircase banister, she flexed her arm muscles as she whirled around, momentum carrying her in a complete turnaround and giving her a start upwards. Breaking into the first door on the second story, she frowned at its vacancy. Darting down the hall further, she kicked the next doorknob, the dry-rotted wood door breaking into large splinters that littered to the floor.

"Ah-!" Two underlings jumped to their feet at her loud entrance, Sae's eyes narrowing as she beheld the mass of yellow-brown powder strewn across the low table in the center of the room.

"Don't have such a large quantity out at once." She snapped, abruptly cutting off the ragged man, "If that opium gets even the slightest bit damp, its all done for." She pointed her katana at them, watching them both stumble back.

"You're Ituko's-" The other underling piped, unnerved when she prickled.

"No. Ituko's _mine_." She reversed, flicking her katana back as she broke away, leaving for the next door. She had to find Takuya before he got an inkling of what was happening, Saezuri knowing he would flee instead of facing her. The next door held what she was looking for, Takuya standing with his back to her as he leaned out the back window, smoking a thick cigar.

"I wondered when someone would come." He was a large man, dressed in a faded black suit that offset his chubby face, a beard scratching at his neck. Turning, he paused upon seeing it was Saezuri standing in the doorway, her cloak midnight dark against the pale wall of the plaster hallway. She watched his face slowly turn red, his lips turning downward as he flicked ash from his cigar.

"Congratulations." Sae said flatly as she cast her eyes down, disinterestedly letting her gaze trail over the untidy room, "You've already successfully turned the rest of this organization against yourself. You can't have the power of running it." She flicked her dark eyes up, his incensed expression only causing for her lips to quirk upward in amusement.

"I'll break you." Takuya's attention slithered down her body, taking in slim limbs even through her cloak, "I could snap you over my knee. Don't fuck with me, _girl_." Spittle flew from his lips as Saezuri merely cocked a brow, raising her katana almost whimsically.

"Oh?" She laughed slightly as she unclasped her cloak, tossing it to the side with a snap of her wrist and a devilish expression.

* * *

Madara landed with a quiet _tak_ on top of a building on the outskirts of Grass' capitol, stilling when he noted a faint smear of Sae's chakra farther in. He hadn't expected her to come back to Ituko, given the woman's close connection with him. If she really had wanted to run...

He put the thought out of his mind as he warped to the building, noticing it was the governmental center; leftover traces of her chakra gave the west wall a faint glow, an obvious trace to her descent to the ground. His pupils contracted as he crouched, searching over the masses of people in the city with his sharingan. Grass shinobi caught his attention first, their chakra sedate as they guarded or milled among the civilians, none engaged in combat. Looking further, a bright pulse caught his attention, easily recognizing the flat blue silhouette that met his eye. Saezuri was in the poorest districts of town, her chakra flaring and giving off the intention to kill. With panther grace Madara jumped from the building, his cloak streaming out as gravity caught him; with a high, furious heartbeat he disappeared in a swirl midair, zeroed in on Sae's location.

* * *

"Hah, as if you can do anything!" Takuya crossed his arms, chewing on the end of his cigar, "Anyhow, you're too late." He laughed derisively, failing to notice the tension coiling in Sae's muscles. "I've seen you around. You wouldn't survive one minute if you weren't Ituko's little pet. It makes me sick."

"Quite the opposite, actually." Sae said as she sprang into action, Takuya's wide eyes tipping her to the fact that he hadn't expected her to be so hostile. Her foot touched down just inches in front of him as she crouched fluidly, flaring her katana in a deadly arc-- she glared up from beside his knee as the steel bit into his flesh, leaving a large rent from his chest up to his ear. Hot blood drenched her face, wetting the entire left side of her as he stumbled back, falling against the wall with a tremendous crash. Straightening to her feet fluidly, Sae wiped her katana on her ruined tank, locking eyes with him as he gurgled, clutching at his neck.

"Saezuri!" She stumbled as Madara's deep voice reverberated through the room, his mouth angry when she whipped to see him. Her heart thundered from the shock of hearing him raise his voice so much, her muscles frozen as he stepped forward, sharingan quickly assessing the blood covering her delicate face and the already dead Takuya.

"Ma-" Her lips trembled as she choked, his large hand catching her neck and slamming her against the wall harshly. He pressed right against her, sharingan spinning viciously as he bore down.

"What in the _hell_ were you thinking?" So close to her face, Saezuri could barely form a coherent thought under his intensity, "That you would desert and come try and destroy this link in my plan? As _if that would work_?" He tightened his grip, reigning in the urge to smash his fist across her face as she stumbled over her words, meaningless sounds squeaking out; she had expected his wrath, but nothing of this level. He thought she meant to hurt him, to foil his plans after all the time she had spent with him. The very thought stalled her mental processes, stunned into wide-eyed disbelief.

"No." She finally whispered, a trembling, red stained hand reaching up to touch his cheek. Regaining some composure, she stiffened, inching fingers under his grip on her neck as she calmly looked at him. "It's not like that at all." She spoke as she blatantly flicked her gaze down to his arm, relieved when he loosened his grip minutely.

"Explain." He was dangerous, still tensed and ready to cut off her air supply once more.

"Takuya was rebelling, and Ituko is....not sane. I came to fix it." Sae hurried to explain, the way Madara's eyes narrowed further putting her on edge, "Jin tipped me off back at the base. I really didn't think it would be this bad, but well, it was." His eyes flicked over her dirty face for several tense seconds, before he finally sighed in disdain, withdrawing his hand.

"We'll talk about this later." He moodily stared Sae down as she cautiously stepped forward, grabbing her cloak before passing him to jog down the stairs. He was one step behind her, the hairs rising on the back of her neck as his dark mood seemed to hover over her. Throughout the streets he let her move where she wanted, staying to her back.

"..." Saezuri glanced back, unnerved at his distance. She almost wished he would continue yelling, scold her, something. Her pace slowed as she came up to the main base however, instantly sensing something was off. The door was slightly ajar, Sae able to glimpse the atrium from the street. Pulling her katana, she prodded it open the rest of the way with cautious fingers, seeing nothing amiss inside. Looking at Madara, she saw that he was just as curious, his eyes less malicious as before.

"Go." He murmured, following her as she stepped inside. Saezuri suddenly thought of Takuya, his words suddenly clicking. Too late... for what?

"Ituko?" Sae called as she pressed further into the base. She froze when her eyes registered a large smear of blood on the wall, foregoing caution and darting for the bedroom. Little splatters of blood dotted the floor as she drew closer, flinging the door open.

"...Saezuri-sama!" Jin looked up from the floor, Ituko laid across his lap as he cradled an obvious broken arm, "I barely caught them. And she's..." Sae took in the two bodies on the left of the large room, disregarding them as she rushed forward, kneeling by Jin. Madara calmly pressed his fingers into the two collapsed men's throats, feeling no pulse. He noted that they died from gashes in their ribs, a rather similar style to Sae's when she decided to be lethal-- a small tick of amusement licked at his emotions, the fact that Jin copied her so diligently tickling his sense of humor. Glancing over at Saezuri, he watched her reach out and touch Ituko's hair, face a blank mask all the while.

"Look's like you're being promoted, Jin." Sae rose to her feet, looking down at the pair, "Leave Ituko, go get fixed up. I'll find you later." She left the room with quick steps, disappearing down the halls with a dwindling pace. Madara glanced at Jin, dully watching color drain from his face as he shifted, laying Ituko's limp body aside-- Madara cared to stay no longer, tracking after Saezuri. He found her leaned against a wall, a hand pressed over her eyes.

"Sae." She jerked, glancing up at him-- she blinked dry, reddened eyes as he held his arms up, beckoning with a quirk of his fingers. He folded his grasp around her small shoulders as she stepped into him, her head fitting soundly with his collarbone, like always. Partly to show her that he wasn't so ill-disposed towards her that he would abandon her, and partly to prevent her from doing something rash, Madara was pleased when her heartbeat slowed, no longer pulsing against his chest like a hummingbird. He wondered of her plans for Jin, willing to let her take care of the rest of the situation-- as escalated and out of control it had just become.

And despite it all, he still had a large fire of irritation basking in his mind, waiting patiently to be unleashed towards her.

* * *

Opinions~?


	14. Chapter 14

Short, don't murder me. X.X

And, anyone know what's up with the manga? This week's chapter seemed... off. Idk, I found Naruto to be rather OOC. Maybe it's just me.

* * *

Saezuri sighed as she flopped back against the wall, uncrossing her legs and letting them stretch out lazily. Boxes lay strewn around the large storage room, items laying on the floor and clothing half pulled out, draped over the edges; she couldn't find anything that was fitted for her, except plain servant yukata which she refused to wear both on the basis of now being in charge, and the fact that the cheap material would fall apart the second she got into any kind of fight or scuffle. Dully she glanced over the mess she had made, swiping at her eyes with the back of her hand quickly when they started to prickle.

She_ refused_ to cry.

Ituko's assassination hit her hard, but Sae would not mourn the woman. She had enough to worry about without lingering on the fact Ituko was gone; Madara had simply eased back and watched, letting Saezuri handle all the servant and underlings without his help. Already she had answered their demands and asserted herself as head of the organization after cleaning Takuya's gore from herself-- and now as the sun was sinking and the streets darkening, she was searching out clothes, her former thrifted outfit from past Akatsuki members trashed. She wore a bathing robe, one of Ituko's finest and most favored, something she also avoided thinking of. Ambling up to her feet, Sae fixed the collar of the yukata to prevent it from falling open as she bent, picking up a black long-sleeve shirt meant for a very large man. Craning back to glance at the open doorway and seeing nobody in the hall, she stripped, quickly pulling the garment over her head. Smoothing it down, she was satisfied when the material fell to just above her knees; rooting through another box procured her a long strip of black material, which she cinched around her waist to pull in the excess material. Satisfied, Saezuri quickly swept through and packed the boxes back together somewhat neatly, walking out into the hall and flicking back the length of her sleeves. One of the younger, male servants stared as she passed, gaze blank as he lingered in the doorway to the kitchens. Just as she drew level he nodded up at her, a sign of acknowledgment. Startled, but mostly bemused, Saezuri gave him a small quirk of her lips as she passed him, walking into the main area.

"Saezuri-sama, these men came from Takuya's faction." Jin caught her attention as he stood from one of the armchairs, gesturing towards four men that were leaning against the wall, obviously waiting for instruction.

"And why haven't you assigned them? Heaven knows there's enough jobs needing to be filled." She cocked a brow, Jin's surprised countenance making her want to sigh, "Yes, you. You're taking Ituko's place. I meant what I said earlier." Jin stuttered minutely, silencing when Sae came forward, looking over each of the men.

"You, kitchen work." She pointed at the thinnest, oldest man, a frail-looking being. He nodded solemnly as Sae moved down the line, "Cleaning. Go find Koko-san, she'll give you something to do." She told a short, burly young man, "You...." She paused on the next, looking him up and down. Blinking once, she said nothing more, instead turning to the last man. "Supplies. Go sort out the storeroom in the west hall." She pointed, not feeling an ounce of guilt. That storeroom was the one she had just come from, and she certainly didn't plan to waste her time fixing it back up when there were so many things on her plate.

"And I?" The man she had skipped stepped forward, causing Sae's gaze to flicker back.

"Are you in shape?" She asked him, looking into his youthful, strong features. She had noticed his toned body, how he carried himself was different from the others.

"I would suppose so." He shrugged, rubbing a hand over his short, buzzed hair. Saezuri scrutinized him for a few seconds, before flicking her finger. "Come with me. Jin, go find somewhere the other three can sleep, and then you can go to bed, yourself." She glanced up at him, easily reading the unspoken questions he yearned to ask in his face, "We'll talk tomorrow. Now you, what's your name?" Saezuri turned to the man as Jin departed.

"Tobinoru." He supplied, unafraid to meet her gaze. Sae's eye twitched minutely as she crossed her arms, noting that he was near the same height as her.

"We'll just be calling you Noru." She said, happy when he just shrugged in compliance. "Tomorrow, be up and dressed by sunrise. I have a special idea in mind, for you."

"And where I'll sleep?" Noru asked, shifting on his feet. Sae just uncrossed her arms instead of answering, moving up the narrow staircase on her left. Noru ambled behind her, scratching at the shadow of a beard lining his chin.

"Ah. One moment." Sae said as she opened a hall closet, pulling out a plain sleeping roll. She tossed it to him suddenly, smiling minutely when he caught it with nimble hands, reflexes acting on impulse. A few more strides down the hall and she was opening a shoji, revealing a very small, cramped room with a bedroll already spread on the wooden floor. "Enjoy." She left it at that, the smile fading from her face as she sought out the last shoji on the upstairs floor, sliding it open. Saezuri was not startled to find Madara sitting in her desk chair, slouched with his hands laced in his lap as he twisted from side to side, gaze right on her.

"Fun with the underlings?" He questioned, a brow quirking. Sae sighed heavily as she combed fingers through her lengthening hair, tousling the strands as she relaxed.

"You have no idea." She dully watched him sway the chair lazily, reading the tension still lingering in his shoulders.

"I can't say I pity you." He commented, dark eyes neutral as he studied her wearied frame.

"..." Saezuri said nothing to that, her lids feeling heavy as she challenged his gaze. "Alright, maybe I should have said something before I left. Either way, it's already happened." Her tone contained ornery hints, something that didn't pass by Madara's notice. His eyes narrowed in irritation as she sat on her futon, absently noting her shirt dress and boots.

"Aa, you should have. What can I do besides jump to the worst conclusion upon finding you missing?" His tone was blistering, making even Saezuri flinch, used to him as she was.

"We've established that I'm capable of being sent on my own to accomplish things. I don't see the big deal." She stretched her legs out, leaning back on her palms as she glanced across the room at Madara. He shifted in her chair, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees.

"If you had been captured on the way? Tortured for information? Thrown into prison for being a rouge?" He rattled off, rising to his feet, "Or maybe betrayed by those falcons you're _newly_ contracted with, or off spewing all the intel you've gathered about my plans? How could I be sure?" Heated, he paced, his voice rising enough to cause Sae to shrink back from him.

"Do you really think I would up and betray you?" She questioned quietly, voice low and terrible. His silence was answer enough for her as she jerked up, grabbing her knees as she leaned forward, "I _gave_ myself to you. Utterly! Damn it, why would I ruin that?!" Fierce eyes met his, their wills clashing.

"I don't know where you came from. What else can I think when I find you vanished in the night, especially with where I first picked you up?" He lifted his brows upon seeing Sae's face sharpen, curious as to how she was reacting.

"What, that I came from a whorehouse? That's why you're so bent out of shape?" She laughed, a sound devoid of any amusement, "I'm not a damn spy. You want my history?" She shifted, Madara's calm face neither stopping her or urging her on, "I was born in Iwa. My father was killed on a mission when I was three, while my mother went increasingly ill. She panicked when I was set to become a genin and yanked us from all the documents she could get her hands on, before fleeing. We wandered for nearly a year as she was dying of tuberculosis, after which I was then forced into those filthy districts to keep alive. Cleaning never was my thing, but I kept the meat off my bones to ward away any thought of Fue's to sell me into the industry. Nobody wants to pay to fuck a bag of bones." She scoffed, flicking her eyes down, "So if you're really that convinced that I'm bad news, go ahead, murder me here. I know too much." She flicked a hand at him, his small chuckle drawing her eyes back up.

"I will not be murdering you." He said as he strode forward, catching her wrists and pulling her up to her feet with an easy flex of his arms, "However, do this again, and I just may." He narrowed his eyes as he leaned into her face. Saezuri blinked twice, unsure of whether he was being serious or not.

"Did my lackluster history break you down?" She wryly asked, hoping against hope that he had worked the fury out of his system. She herself didn't care to pursue it anymore, as Madara's anger was starting to bring out the anger in her, a rare feat.

"Hardly." Madara ticked his tongue, exhaling when Sae wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I'm sorry, okay? I've learned my lesson from this." She pressed a soft kiss to his collarbone, drawing away. "I promise not to sneak away for your own benefit ever again." Saezuri laughed lightly, pulling off her shirt dress as she knelt, slipping into her futon. Madara shook his head, delicately amused as he soon joined her, the soft bedding easing what tension was left lingering in his muscles.

* * *

Thoughts?


	15. Chapter 15

The next chapter/chapters will just be snippets of the next time period, what with Jin and Noru now.  
Then, SHIPPUDEN! :D :D

It's almost here. Yes~

* * *

"Oi, Noru." Sae called as she descended onto the first floor, dressed with her katana slung around her hips. In her hands she held a variety of gear, including guards made out of pearly white bone and a short wakizashi blade. She beheld him leaning over the dining table, chair scooted out as he held his chin tiredly. "You better be awake and ready, I won't be going easy on you." She dumped the supplies out onto the table, watching him pick up and curiously regard a forearm guard.

"I'm not a fighter." He finally stated, looking up at her. Sae just smiled elusively, flicking her hand for him to outfit himself with what she had brought. Noru stood ready a few minutes later, awkwardly gripping the wakizashi.

"Now. We're going to teach you stealth." Sae said, setting her hand on the hilt of her katana, "You're going to be the lifeblood of the circle of protection going on around here."

"Not to offend, but you don't exactly look like an expert." Noru itched the back of his head, guarded against Sae's reaction, "I don't want to be taught by you and then end up slaughtered when someone attacks me." Sae studied him for a moment, before flicking out her blade with a flourish and touching the side of his neck before he could even process it.

"Dead." She flatly said, "That's the point, to look non-conspicuous. And quite frankly, if they can catch you long enough to attack, you deserve to be slaughtered anyway." Noru swallowed delicately, the metal of Saezuri's katana still singing lightly from her swift movements. She blinked once, slowly at him, before withdrawing her arm. "Loosen your grip." She gestured to where he had a very tight hold on the hilt of his short sword, his reluctance making her smile. Kisame must have gone through much the same teaching her, as she was going through teaching Noru.

"What-" He choked in surprise when she lashed out, raising his free arm as if to ward off her blade as he stumbled away. Sae halted her strike a bare hairsbreadth from his skin, watching mutely as his balance teetered farther and he ended up in a heap on the floor. "What was that for!?" He rose his voice, flinching when Sae rapped his head sharply with the blunt edge of her katana.

"That's what I should be asking!" She leaned over, a hand on her hip as she stared him down, "Why in the _world_ would you raise a scantily protected arm against a blade?! You have a wakizashi, use it!" She watched his broad features twist, gaining an air of contempt.

"Oh, I'll use it." He snarled, leaping from the floor. Saezuri caught his rough swing on the flat of her blade, nonchalantly flicking his momentum off to the side. He quickly recovered and made to stab her in the chest, though he didn't have killing force behind it-- reluctant, Saezuri noticed.

"You'll never get anywhere with such a weak will." She goaded, smacking him across his cheekbone with the flat of her blade. The skin broke nastily, but Noru didn't deter, instead sweeping Sae's feet out from under her with a low kick. She allowed herself to fall, hitting the wood floor with a simple, nimble roll, ending up behind him in a scarce second. "Resourceful, nice." She breezily complimented, his frustrated growl bringing a childish smile to her face. Hearing a small gasp, her eyes darted to the left, seeing two of the younger servant girls there, holding hands and watching with a horrified sort of fascination.

"Sae-sama-!" One of them breathily exclaimed, Saezuri sensing the air displacing at the back of her neck. Purposely catching Noru's vicious downswing with the flesh of her forearm, she watched his eyes fly wide as the blade sunk into her flesh, cutting through soft skin enough to procure a rush of blood.

"And what now?" Sae raised an eyebrow, her arm tense against the pain singing through her nerves, "Such anger is a weakness. If you can't control it, get rid of it." She pried the wakizashi out of the gash as Noru backed away, somewhat shocked at her blasé approach. "Now get a hold of yourself and _listen_ to me." She studied him for a tense moment, the only sound in the room the blood dripping from her fingertips, "Unless you'd rather scrub floors for the rest of your natural lifetime. I can find a replacement easily enough." She shrugged, his rebellious expression easing somewhat.

"No." He shortly said, taking back the sullied wakizashi as she offered it.

"Saezuri-sama." One of the maids stepped forward, a rolled bandage cupped in her hands. Sae blinked at her, mutely watching the girl wind the material around her arm with an air of expertise.

"What's your name?" Sae asked, aware of the girl's surprised twitch. She glanced up with wide blue eyes, obviously not used to being spoken to.

"Tamaki." She quietly said, voice light with tension. Saezuri patted her head as she tied off the bandage, the soft strands luxurious underneath her fingers.

"Shall we then, Noru?" Sae turned to the young man, subtly dismissing the two maids as she flicked her hand towards the front of the base. In the main foyer, she glanced around the large room, smiling slightly. "I want you to practice here for two weeks. Sit ups, push ups, anything to build upper arm strength. I want you to be able to hold your body weight for minutes on end using only your arms." She laid out flatly, uncompromising at his begrudging attitude.

"Alright." He quietly said, still under her gaze. She paused lightly before leaving him on his own, all the while rubbing her throbbing arm. Retreating up to her large room, she slipped inside, noticing Madara had gotten up. She had left him lazing in the futon when she had rolled out of bed before dawn, and even now orange sun rays were just filtering in through the windows. In the bathroom, she found the shower on and Madara in the shower, his wet head briefly poking out to see who had come in. Seeing it was only Saezuri he wordlessly let her alone, continuing on with his shower. Sae took off the bandage on her arm, rinsing the still-weeping wound under the sink, groaning lowly in her throat at the pain. The water ran red, lighting to a faint pink before she pulled back, digging out antiseptic from under the sink. A smattering of bubbles fizzled angrily as she poured a cap-full over her skin, eye twitching.

"You can never keep yourself in one piece, can you?" Madara commented bemusedly as he stepped out of the shower, toweling dry his hair. Saezuri didn't bat an eye at his bare body, instead sitting to the floor and crossing her long legs, holding a washcloth over her gash as she looked for fresh bandages.

"Apparently not." She tittered, humming lightly in triumph when she found a clean roll of pearly white bandages, obviously never used. She fought with the hooks holding it together, unable to get them off with her one functional hand, the other stemming anymore bleeding.

"How you manage, I'll never know." Madara delicately said as he slipped into pants, tying the drawstring as he watched Sae glance up at him, hopelessly.

"Help?" She asked lightly, holding up the roll of bandages with a small smile. He smirked, taking the roll and kneeling in front of her, strong hands handling her arm with care as he wrapped it. He clipped off the end, Saezuri bending her arm cautiously. "Thank you." She said, leaning forward to press a soft kiss to his mouth.

"Just don't make it a habit, or you'll be a walking mummy soon enough." He ducked under her fast swat, smirk growing. Rising to his feet, he crossed the bathroom to pull his customary turtleneck on, ruffling his short hair to set it in place as his head came through the collar.

"Want to whip Jin into shape for me?" Sae asked dully, long lashes sweeping up as she looked at Madara. He snorted, crossing his arms.

"You that took on that mess. I have nothing to do with it." He watched Sae sigh, pressing off the floor with her hand to her feet. Her punishment, she knew. He would make her see this through, to the end.

"Time to go knock some common sense into that boy, then." She flipped a hand, readjusting the white belt around her waist as she passed from her chambers, seeking out Jin. She heard nothing of the Uchiha as he turned to presumably pursuit his own interests, her shoes the only lonely noise through the halls at such an early hour.

* * *

Thoughts? Anything you hate and/or absolutely love?  
I LOVE feedback! (:


	16. Chapter 16

I've been meaning to ask this forever, but does anyone wanna do some art? (:  
I'm interested to see how you guys visualize things.

Anyhow: AKATSUKIIIII!

* * *

"Now, what does this mean?" Sae tapped her finger onto the aged scroll, standing slightly behind Jin as she looked over his shoulder. He leaned forward in his seat, furrowing his brows as he read the old language and then skimmed the chart of numbers below.

"An income record?" He glanced at her in question, frowning when she sighed.

"More than that. See this?" She pointed to the scroll, "These are all the districts in this city. Each of these are accumulations, making it not an income record, but more of a collection record." She dully observed Jin's blank face, catching the small tick of frustration in his features, "The underlings send the proper shares of their money to us, and we then direct it to a variety of uses."

"Like bribery?" He asked, lightening some when Saezuri gave a small titter of a laugh, brushing hair out of her eyes.

"Exactly. And drug cultivation, supplies, rewards, anything under the sun." She moved, cracking her spine with ease as she twisted lengthily, "It's one o'clock, anyhow. Clean this up and go find Koko, ask her about those old stains on the third floor. I'm sick of seeing them." Saezuri flicked her hand, holding up a single seal and disappearing with a whisper of noise. She landed with a flicker of chakra inside the kitchens, finding Noru sitting at one of the low tables with a large, empty plate in front of him.

"Time already?" He asked, moody as he stared up at Saezuri. Her eyelid ticked as he lazily pulled a chicken bone from his mouth with a flourish, his attitude instantaneously pissing her off.

"Yes, time already, like it has been every. day." She snapped, feeling her blood boil when he merely raised an eyebrow at her. Engaging in action, she flew across the room, fisting her hands in his shirt and easily hauling him out from behind the table and slamming him to the floor, "Your time here is about to be cut _real_ short. I've given you three months to try and straighten out, but still all I get is that shitty attitude." Noru shoved her off with a violent push, rising to his feet and brushing off his knees, "I mean it. Straighten up, I won't have such an uncontrollable man in my ranks." Her voice was sharp and cutting, provoking Noru to glare at her.

"Alright, I get it." He growled, pulling his wakizashi with a short, angry jerk, following after Sae. He hooked a hand around the door-frame to outside and used momentum to launch off the opposing wall, leaping off a neighboring balcony with a quick tuck, landing on the roof beside Saezuri. Whereas she had chakra at her disposal, he used clever footwork and leaps to gain nimble access to any place a ninja would be able to get to.

"Katas, and then we'll work on stealth." Sae was short with him, drawing her katana. As soon as Noru settled next to her she started, swooping in a deft move, practiced and controlled as she swung her blade, Noru matching her step for step. Soon sweat beaded his brow, Saezuri's own breath even becoming labored as she leapt and slashed, short movements meant for confined spaces and fast attacks. He stumbled through the last segment, sitting with a heave of air at the end.

"That," He gasped for air, "never gets easy."

"Eventually it will. Maybe not easy, but tolerable." Sae breezed, leaving over and propping her hands on her knees as she, herself, recovered.

"What'll we steal today for training?" Noru asked as he ambled to his feet, wiping his brow with an equally perspiring forearm.

"In the mood for priceless artifacts, or fast, easy money?" Sae asked flippantly, swirling her katana in the roofing tar under her feet.

"Artifacts, they're always a challenge." Noru smirked as Saezuri sent him a proud glance, following her as she leapt off the building into the gritty alleys below.

* * *

Saezuri slipped from the ornate kimono she had taken to wearing, donning her old gear once more. The coarse shirt-dress felt like an old friend as she smoothed it over her fit stomach, tying the sash around her waist and creasing back the seams at the start of her shoulder where she had gotten rid of the sleeves. Buckling her customary white belt and katana around her hips, Sae pulled on a pair of fingerless gloves that reached her elbows as a buffer between her skin and the forearm guards she buckled on next.

"I'll meet you out in River country. I have some preliminary work for Zetsu that can be accomplished while you wrap up here." Madara spoke, his arms crossed as he leaned against the wall, mutely watching her.

"Okay." Sae chirped quietly, moving to him on light feet. "Travel well." She said as she tip-toed, giving him a small farewell kiss. Madara sleeked his hand over her collarbone-length hair, pressing his forehead against hers briefly.

"See you soon." He stated, already beginning to waiver. Within a heartbeat he vanished with a small pinpoint and a pop, leaving Saezuri alone in her rooms. Descending into the main foyer, she caught many of the servant's somewhat surprised looks at her battle gear. Ignoring them, Sae went straight to Jin's study, finding the young man reclining in his seat and looking at a photograph.

"Oi." Saezuri announced herself as she strode straight inside, Jin's startled fumble as he hid the photograph piquing her interest, "I'm leaving."

"What?!" Jin jumped to his feet, sweeping around to the front of his desk, "Why?"

"You've grown to be an impressive man." Saezuri diverted the topic, smiling proudly at Jin, "You'll do a fine job of running this place." She reached and ruffled his hair in a purposely condescending move, amused as always by his extreme height.

"But-"

"And that girl? Take care of her." Sae cocked a knowing brow, his disgruntled expression drawing a charming laugh out of her mouth, "I saw that photograph, so quit mooning after her and go for it, whoever the lucky woman is." She tapped his shoulder, "You're an influential boss of an organization now."

"But... where'll you go?" Jin asked, scratching the back of his neck.

"Places. Grass never is or will be my home. Even this past year and a half has been enough of a dose to last me a lifetime." Saezuri turned, giving him one last glance, "See you." She waved a hand, disappearing out the door. Down the hall, she raised her finger to her lips, biting enough tissue off to produce a spot of blood. Sliding open the large window at the end of the hall, Sae formed handseals as she climbed out, summoning Sen with a rush of chakra. She jumped onto his back as he flared his wings in surprise, the abrupt summoning enough to throw him for a loop.

"Flat land is preferable, you know." The falcon grouched at her as he took to the skies, spiraling high above the sprawling capitol.

"Just take us to River country, please." Saezuri tittered in a bright voice, laying flat against her summon's back. Sen huffed as he directed off the warm thermal he had been rising off of, spreading his flight feathers and settling in for a long flight.

* * *

Saezuri leaned forward over Sen's back, his feathers whistling loudly on the wind as she searched the forest below, only able to see a sea of green leaves. Rubbing her neck, Sae wondered how she was supposed to pick out Madara, among that mess. She knew he was with Zetsu, but other than that, he had given her no distinguishing information.

"Enemies?" Sen called over the wind, Sae whipping her head to look over her shoulder. On the horizon behind them a great bird was silhouetted, rapidly gaining on them.

"Evasive maneuvers, Sen!" Saezuri yelled as she huddled into his feathers, channeling enough chakra to give her a firm hold, but not enough to start destroying and eroding his feathers and delicate skin. Her head swam as he pulled a tight flip, churning about to dive for the ground. Feeling her limbs pull, Sae buried her head, not looking at the rapidly approaching forest to save what nerves she could. As soon as Sen banked into a tight turn, she glanced back to see the bird right on their tail, just as massive as Sen and looking strangely smooth in the afternoon sun. When her eyes focused she found it not to be a living being at all, unable to figure out what it was made of. Sitting up and feeling the wind strongly buff her, Sae cautiously rose to her feet, balance wobbling.

"What are you doing?!" Sen shrilled back at her, holding as still as he could on the turbulent wind, sacrificing his speed. Saezuri kept silent, leaning forward as the enemy bird quickly gained on them; with a tremendous leap, her heart thudded high in her throat as she felt flight grip her. Flinging her limbs out, Sae caught the bird's flank, so surprised when her hands sunk into a malleable substance that she nearly let go in reflex. With a tenacious strength she held on however, clamoring up onto the beast's back as it teetered on the air current, writhing to try and throw her off. Out of the corner of her eye Saezuri noted Sen arcing up into the sky, his silhouette lonely and sleek against the sun. Plunging her hands into the soft substance of the bird's neck, Sae frowned in confusion when she found nothing but softness inside.

"What the-" She hissed in surprise both when something morphed out of the bird's side, and when her hands became cemented where they were. Seeing a smaller, more agile dragon-like being take flight, Sae tugged on her limbs in panic, channeling chakra to her hands and building up an unbearable amount. Her flesh burned, a bead of sweat dripping down her temple as she felt her hands start to free up, ripping them out wildly. Just as the dragon was descending towards her with its colorless maw open, Sae whipped out her katana and sliced in down the middle, the two halves falling away as she hyperventilated. She shrieked when they glowed briefly, exploding and buffering her with heat and debris. Coughing, her eye squinted as she nimbly rolled backwards on the bird, emerging out of the cloud of smoke sullied and covered in soot. Rising to her feet, her balance was non-existent as she whistled shrilly for Sen. Falling off the bird's tail with a wild flail, Saezuri grunted when she hit on Sen's back after a breath-taking freefall.

"You're insane. Bat-shit insane." Sen said irately as he avoided the diving creature, spinning so that Sae's stomach clenched sickly as she fisted her hands in his feathers helplessly.

"Heh. Well, I don't know what the thing is, but it's going down." Sae snickered, determination lighting her eyes; bracing her muscles as she freed her hands, she formed fast but somewhat haphazard seals. Raising her hand to her mouth, a stream of water condensed from the air, hitting the bird square on. The creature flailed, melting under the strong stream Sae concentrated, falling out of pursuit not a second later. She watched it fall to the forest below, mangling into an unrecognizable tan lump upon the ground.

"Hang on." Sen cautioned, swooping down to land, huge talons catching the earth and bringing them to a rough halt. Sae flew forward, using her momentum to transform her sprawl into a quick tuck, hitting the forest floor with a compact thud, her feet together neatly. Her heels reverberated as she straightened, unscathed as she glanced back at the mass of the bird, Sen cautiously nosing it with his beak. "Clay, it seems." He commented to her, glancing back with one gigantic eye. Saezuri moved forward, twigs snapping under her boots as she reached out and grabbed a handful, sliding it between her fingers and smelling the rich, earthy smell it issued.

"Aa. It's clay." She confirmed, glancing around the forest, "But who has such a technique?" She wondered, never having heard of shinobi offensively using it. Even coming from Iwa, it was a completely new concept to her.

"A woman, hmm?" A male voice had her on edge, her grip flying to her katana in reflex. Wild eyes darted around the forest, her blonde hair falling in her face at the rapid movement.

"Who're you?" She questioned guardedly as she noticed the man appear, blinking when she saw the red cloud on his chest.

"I could ask the same. You aren't more of that bastard Konoha troop, are you?" His lip curled, blond topknot fluttering as a brush of wind caught it.

"No." Sae said, disgruntled when he moved, his limp sleeves an obvious testament to his missing arms-- a glinting blue eye as hard as steel stared her down.

"I don't really believe you." With an arrogant touch he strode up to what had been the bird, placing a petite foot in the lump's side.

"Oi oi, I'm with Akatsuki." Saezuri held up her hands for peace, "Sort of, at least." She amended, earning a derisive laugh from the man.

"Right, and I'm the daimyo's wife." He snarked back at her, bending to bite off a chunk of clay. Sae watched with a muted kind of fascination as he chewed on it, spitting out a perfectly formed lizard. Just as it popped to a larger size with a small dust cloud, Sae's nerves skyrocketed as she heard a mass of twigs snapping, someone approaching through the forest as the lizard made a mad dash for her.

"SAE-CHAAANN!!" Tobi came flying out of the woods, Saezuri barely having enough time to register his voice before she was hitting the ground roughly, his heavy weight pinning her.

"God DAMN it, Tobi!" Sae sharply said, growling lowly in her throat as Madara circled his arms around her and rolled to his feet, picking her up in a swift movement and crushing her ribs as he hugged her tight.

"Tobi missed you~!" He sang childishly, finally releasing her. In on swift move she threw a feminine fist at his jaw, gaining a solid knock that was enough to send him stumbling.

"That hurt, you brute!" She further shook her fist, threatening another hit.

"This is Deidara-senpai." Tobi mildly commented, making Sae stop in her tracks as he gestured towards the blond man. She froze, looking to the dubious Akatsuki as he raised his one visible brow. The lizard fell motionless on the forest floor, blinking sedate, colorless eyes.

"You're kidding me." Came out of his mouth as he glanced between her and Tobi, who was rubbing his jaw absentmindedly, "Who the fuck is this chick, Tobi?"

"My lover." Tobi offhandedly tittered, Deidara's choke enough to make an amused smirk raise his lips, hidden as they were.

"Don't make a fool of yourself, _please_." Sae pinched her brow, sighing. "Goodness knows you do it enough, Tobi." His name was mocking, coming out of her mouth. She caught the onyx eye that slimmed towards her, the private joke making a small, coy smile raise her lips. Deidara laughed, unsure if he was being duped or not.

"You've got to be kidding, hmm. You, a lover?" He looked at Tobi, before Sae, "Who could love such a idiot? Don't make me laugh, un."

"It's true." Saezuri said, pressing her hands together. The seal de-summoned Sen, who disappeared with a large pouf of dust, "He's a bit of a blockhead, but Tobi is Tobi, I suppose."

"Yeah, Deidara-senpai. What could _you_ understand of love?" Tobi nagged, Saezuri holding back a laugh at the Iwa-nin's infuriated expression.

"Speaking of love, exactly which daimyo are you married to?" Sae asked at him slyly, infinitely amused when Tobi snapped to attention.

"Kaaaaa, Deidara-senpai? I didn't know you swung that way!" Tobi suddenly gasped, wriggling his arms in a childish, excited way, "Unless, you're really a girl! Yatta, I knew it!" With a boisterous laugh he propped his hands on his hips.

"Die!" Deidara hawked, hair flying with the force of his yell as the lizard leapt to action. Clamping onto Tobi's face, it morphed onto his mask. Saezuri was unphased at the burst of light and fluttering of wind that buffed her as it exploded, Tobi flailing backwards.

"If it makes you feel any better, I had no doubt of your masculinity." Saezuri disinterestedly commented, picking at her nails. A tiny smile rose her lips at Deidara's frustrated groan as he whirled, stalking away. Grabbing Madara's flailing forearm, Sae hauled him after the short bomber, amused at the stream of smoke that followed them.

* * *

Deidara finally debuts! ;D

Thoughts?


	17. Chapter 17

Not much to say, here, except I love the pants offa Deidara. :3

* * *

"Tobi." Deidara called back, pausing on the path, "Where was Kakuzu last, hmm?" Saezuri looked to Madara at her side, his mask still scalded from the explosion.

"I wouldn't know" He shrugged carelessly, Sae sighing as her shoulders slumped.

"You were with Zetsu last, he keeps track of everyone!" Deidara pointed out with an ornery tone, Sae locking eyes with him.

"He won't tell you. Best to just find Zetsu, he should still be nearby I would imagine." She twitched when Tobi reached out for her, wobbling.

"S-Sae-chan, that was mean..." He hugged her head to his chest, smushing her cheeks out of line as he petted a heavy hand over her scalp. Saezuri pawed at him and managed to free her head with an irritated expression, hair frazzled.

"Just shut up, Tobi. You know it's true." Fixing her pale blonde hair, Sae watched Madara falsely wipe at his face as if to catch a tear. "You have a mask, baka." She pointed out dully, turning to follow Deidara.

"I'm losing my darling~" Tobi despaired, reaching out with a gloved hand, "I'm losing her to Deidara-senpai's ultra-cool physique!" He monologued, Saezuri turning back to him with an incredulous expression.

"You're being ridiculous! You're not losing me, for god's sake he has no arms!" Sae said, disdain coloring her tone as she cocked a brow.

"Oi!" Deidara sharply complained, whirling on the both of them; Sae clammed up when she glanced at his small figure, Tobi curiously raising his head from where he had fallen to his hands and knees, "Can we stop the lover's spat and find someone to attached my damned arms?!" To prove his point, the bomber waved his empty sleeves, grimacing slightly at the pain of moving the mere nubs his shoulders had been reduced to.

"Yes, yes." Sae said, boldly reaching into Madara's hip pouch and procuring a kunai. Slitting her palm enough to draw a line of blood, she rubbed her hands swiftly together and pressed both to the ground-- a dozen small clouds of dust radiated out from her fingertips, tiny falcons appearing on the ground, twittering and looking around with a keen interest. "Search for a plant-like man. Go." The birds took off with a mad fluttering of wings, having learned months ago that the first to complete her task got rewarded the best. Saezuri watched them quickly disappear among the trees, glancing at Deidara when she heard a soft splatter. She blinked in alarm at the blood dripping from his sleeves, the material thoroughly wetted.

"Don't touch me." Deidara groused when Sae stepped forward, frowning heavily.

"You're bleeding out." She tried to reason with him; however, when his expression didn't change, Sae just smiled calmly and raised her arm, "Tobi, help me."

"Yes!" Madara snapped to attention, scurrying forward. Deidara tensed and moved back, but he wasn't fast enough to avoid Tobi's rush-- Saezuri was satisfied when Madara snatched the Akatsuki cloak off of him, revealing the extent of damage. Bits of muscle and skin hung raggedly, something that made even Sae's stomach turn with both sickness and sympathy.

"That's even worse than I thought." Sae sighed lightly, grabbed the trashed cloak and calmly making nicks in the woven material with Madara's kunai, before casually gripping the weapon in her mouth. With deft strength, she easily tore the cloak into long strips, hooking her middle finger in the ring of the kunai and flicking it into the ground.

"Naaa, Deidara-senpai, how're you gonna attach your arms when you have no elbows?" Tobi asked, flopping to the ground lazily and propping his forearms on his knees loosely as Sae carefully bound the wounds.

"Does it matter, Tobi? Kakuzu will have to figure that one out, hmm." Deidara spoke as he fought not to grimace, glancing curiously up at Sae as she picked through the bandages in her hands, eyelashes flicked down as she searched. He found it strange Tobi would choose such a collected woman, her blonde hair and somewhat pointed features speaking of an Iwa lineage.

"Really, my falcons should be returning soon. Watch for them, Tobi?" Sae thought aloud as she leaned forward to carefully finish the tying on Deidara's arm, her collarbones bared delicately from under her shirt collar. The more Deidara looked, the more her and Tobi didn't fit together, resulting in a puzzling paradox in his mind.

"Haiii, Sae-chan." Madara stood to his feet in an easy movement, angling his singular gaze towards the sky. Rolling the rest of the makeshift bandages she had left over, Saezuri clipped them neatly and moved to open the pouch on Madara's hip in a familiar way. Storing them inside, she quickly stepped out of the way when she heard the tell-tale whistle of feathers, Madara raising his arm. She watched the small speck of one of her falcons dive-bomb from the sky, reaching high speeds as it rocketed for the ground. Sure of itself, the creature was quietly trusting as it did nothing to stop its descent, calm as Madara snatched its feet and flipped the bird upright on his forearm. Saezuri watched the falcon raise its left wing and bob its head in a particular, set pattern, understanding the message.

"Good work." She cooed at the baby bird, reaching into the small pocket sew into the top of her boot. As she pulled out a pellet, the falcon darted its head forward and swallowed the morsel whole, whistling contentedly; with a simple seal Sae de-summoned the bird as she spoke, "Zetsu is five clicks northeast and on the move. I doubt we can catch up." Saezuri sighed, startled when Tobi rose his hand in the air.

"Tobi'll get him!" Madara's long limbs flew out as he dashed into the woods, disappearing quickly.

"...Well, that works I suppose." Sae blinked, glancing to Deidara as he leaned back against a tree tiredly, watching her quietly.

"Sae, was it, un?" He tilted his head, blonde strands falling over his shoulder.

"Dazai Saezuri, actually." She smiled at him, gesturing towards his forehead protector, "I was from Iwa, too. Only I never made it to being an official shinobi."

"Surprising." Deidara lifted a brow, her skills speaking enough to make that statement questionable.

"Ma-- Tobi trained me when he found me. Rescued me from a rather miserable life, luckily." Sae crossed her arms comfortably, leaning her shoulder against a tree, herself.

"Typical brat, hmm." Deidara humphed, cracking a grin.

"Aa, that's true." Sae chuckled fondly, amused at the grudging kind of acceptance Deidara had for Tobi.

"Kakuzu is in the Sanuki mountains, right now~!" Tobi called loudly as he popped out of the earth between Sae and Deidara, startling them both badly-- so much that Sae had clawed her way up the tree trunk she was leaning against, chakra streaming from her hands while Deidara had stumbled back wildly.

"God, Tobi, a little warning?!" Sae snapped as she dropped to the ground, landing neatly while Deidara glared at the back of Tobi's head, obviously itching to hurt the man.

"Like what?" Tobi lightly asked, hauling himself out of the ground, patting off his arms absentmindedly.

"Like approaching like a _normal_ person and not appearing out of the god-forsaken ground, maybe?" Sae scalded, also irritated at herself for being so caught off guard. If it had been an enemy...

"Tobi was being quick." Madara shrugged, lighthearted as he brushed off Saezuri.

"Let's go, hmm." Deidara cut them off, already heading north towards the mountains as both Sae and Madara hurried to catch up to him.

* * *

Thoughts, m'dears?


	18. Chapter 18

Sorry for the rather long-ish wait. P:

* * *

"Wait." Sae held out her arm as the forest dwindled off, a cliffside presenting itself. She glanced down the expanse of rock towards the valley below, satisfied at the drop. "We can take the falcons, now."

"Why did you wait so long?" Deidara asked, irritated she hadn't called them sooner if the option was there.

"Sen can't get into the sky with such thick trees. Now, though..." She gestured towards the open air, blinking as if bewildered that it hadn't been obvious.

"Kyaaaa, will we all fit on Sen?" Tobi piped up as Sae made seals, two large falcons appearing as she touched the ground.

"Of course not. That's far over three hundred pounds, Sen can't heft that much weight." Saezuri said, the bird in question blinking. "Deidara, would like to ride with me or alone?" Sae asked the blonde, his confident smirk enough of an answer.

"I can handle myself, hmm." He said as he approached the second falcon, a light tawny female.

"C'mon, Tobi." Sae called, Sen dipping compliantly; Madara climbed up onto the bird's back, Sae joining him with a chakra-powered jump. She glanced to see that Deidara was sitting himself unsteadily onto his falcon's shoulders, using chakra to get a hold. Saezuri signaled to the female falcon with a simple tilt of her fingers, all while tapping on Sen's neck. The birds readied themselves, Sen taking the lead and stepping off the cliff leisurely-- Sae's heart jumped into her throat when they dropped alarmingly, Sen's wings straining against both her and Madara's weight. He seemed to adjust however, soon climbing into the sky. The female falcon easily kept pace, Deidara settling in against her back easily. The air was cold and clear, something that smarted at Saezuri's cheeks as she leant into the wind.

"He's quite the character, no?" Madara lowly commented in her ear as he draped himself over her back, nudging his head towards where Deidara was visible to their right, flying at a slightly lower altitude. Sae chuckled lightly, reaching back to hold his large hand.

"I agree." She lightly said, brushing her thumb over his knuckle, "However, I thought that all Akatsuki traveled in pairs?" She questioned, tilting her head enough to glance at his face.

"His partner just died." Through his mask, Sae could see his eye lighten and take on an amused air, "Hence..." He held up his left hand, bending his thumb. Saezuri curiously glanced at the new ring there, realizing.

"You're official now, huh?" She laughed, amused as always by the backhanded way Madara handled his organization. She wondered how Deidara would take it if Madara were to reveal himself, knowing the young bomber would probably have an attack of some sort.

"Aa. Which, don't let me forget, I need to get you a cloak." His eye slimmed with seriousness, no longer lighthearted, "Had Deidara been uninjured, you wouldn't have escaped so unscathed. There are others more vicious than he in Akatsuki. They need a way to recognize that you're not an enemy." He wiped a small smudge of soot from her temple, a remnant of her struggle with the clay bird. Saezuri nodded mutely, understanding. Despite all her training and proficiency, she wasn't much of a match against the talented shinobi underneath Madara-- hold her own, maybe, but never emerge victorious. Sae glanced forward when Sen tipped lightly on the breeze, angling more north and out of the glare of the afternoon sun. The mountains already tipped the horizon, sped by the falcons' approach; high and fast, traveling through the thin, crisp air high above the ground. It took a mere couple hours longer before they were approaching the crags, sharp rock towering into the sky.

"Sen, start heading for the ground." Saezuri ordered, leaning forward enough to talk over the wind. She shifted as he started angling his wings downward, spiraling loosely as the female falcon followed his lead. He landed on a stretch of flat rock, bowing enough to let Sae land with an easy jump, stretching her arms as Deidara slid off his own bird. Tobi dropped down next to Sae quietly, glancing around.

"..-ust shut up already, before I take your head off." Tobi perked upon hearing the dangerous, gravelly voice far off, turning his head towards the source.

"As if you could, fucker." Saezuri frowned at who responded, fleetingly recognizing that drawl-- Hidan.

"Hmph, perfect timing." Deidara smirked, striding forward to meet the two Akatsuki. "Kakuzu, do me a favor, un." He raised his voice, gaining both men's attention.

"What happened to you, shitface?" Hidan laughed derisively, before looking further and noticing Tobi and Saezuri.

"Konoha happened to me, that's what." Deidara snapped, turning to Kakuzu. The tall Taki-nin was quiet, surveying Deidara's hacked limbs disinterestedly.

"Sit someplace and I'll attach them for you." He gestured, following after Deidara as he chose a flat-topped boulder to settle on.

"Oi, you're that woman." Hidan chose to pester Saezuri as his partner was occupied, walking forward enough to get a good look at her face.

"'That woman' isn't very descriptive, you know." Sae drawled as she pressed her hands together, de-summoning the two falcons. Hidan bristled at her tone, leaning his head back to look down on her irately.

"I should've just killed you that day, too." Cocking his head, he looked at her unmoved eyes, "In fact, I could use a new sacrifice." He licked his lips suggestively, snickering when Sae stiffened.

"Don't you touch my Sae-chan." Tobi whined as he waved his arms wildly, looking between Hidan and Saezuri.

"Hey, what's up with this?" Hidan moved his finger between Sae and Tobi, questioning, "What happened to that fuckhead you were with that night?" Sae blinked curiously, almost blurting that they were one and the same. Catching herself in time however, she just shrugged, dismissive.

"Who I'm involved with is none of your business, I think."

"Just a regular whore, naaa?" Unruly, Hidan smirked darkly, "I would love to have a go, next." Saezuri chocked in surprise, while Tobi grew unnaturally still.

"Hidan-senpai, you're a woman stealer." Tobi nonchalantly declared, pointing an accusing finger at the man. Sae coughed on a suppressed laugh, covering her mouth with a slim hand as Hidan drew his scyth threateningly.

"What've you got to say, you little shit-"

"Hidan." Kakuzu was sharp as he intervened, tying off his last stitch on Deidara's arm. The blonde stood and stretched, pulling on his shoulders carefully.

"Let's go, Tobi." He flicked his hand, Sae glancing at him curiously.

"Wait." Kakuzu held up a hand, scrutinizing Saezuri, "Is that sword on your hip made by Grass crafters?" He asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Yes, why?" Sae stumbled back in surprise when his hand shot away from his arm, gripping onto her neck dangerously.

"Do you have _any_ idea how much that cost? How did you get access to Akatsuki funds?" He grew murderous, lifting her into the air. Deidara's single eye was wide as Sae kicked wildly, Tobi dithering on the spot worriedly as he watched. Groping back, Saezuri caught the sword in question, drawing it with a sharp twist and slicing clean through Kakuzu's tentacles. She dropped to the ground roughly, crippling down to her knee as she ripped away his detached hand from her throat. Her skin prickled unpleasantly, ever reminded of the Kiri ANBU that had cut her throat.

"I got it over four years ago! It shouldn't matter now." Sae fended Kakuzu off, avoiding his questions. In a heartbeat her head spun as something caught her up around the waist, and when she gathered her senses, she realized Madara had snatched her up. Rock rushed past as he ran, a firm arm under her abdomen.

"See ya, Kaukuzu-senpai, Hidan-senpai~!" He called out raucously, waving with his free hand obnoxiously before dropping down out of sight.

"I better go catch up with the idiot, hmm." Deidara sighed as he departed also, raising a lazy hand in farewell to the Akatsuki pair. Kakuzu seethed but stayed put, smacking Hidan in the back of the head when he moved to follow.

"OW! What was that for, dickface?" He spun on his partner, red faced with fury.

"Stay." Kakuzu graveled, making Deidara give one last chuckle before their squabbles fell out of earshot. The bomber shielded his eyes as he glanced around for Tobi, irritated when he was nowhere in sight. Reaching inside his pouch, Deidara's newly attached hand snapped up a bit of clay, a small lizard morphing out a second later. Tossing it to the rocky terrain carelessly, he let it scurry off to do the searching for him, leisurely walking down the path as he waited for results.

* * *

Thoughts? (:


	19. Chapter 19

Tons of action next chapter!  
This was extremely fun to write, haha.

Yay, hometown!

* * *

Sae sighed as Madara finally set her down on a large, flat outcrop of rock, the surface rough underneath their feet.

"I forgot Kakuzu would be sore about the katana. Sorry." He was serious as he leaned into her face minutely, watching her blink.

"You know what's near here?" She diverted the topic, tilting her head enough to look away over the landscape, eyelashes outlined against the sun. Madara paused, deliberating over what she could mean. After a heavy pause and receiving no answer, Sae glanced back to his single exposed eye. "The brothel. It's in one of the first border towns on the side near Iwa." With barely a thought, she reached out to unclasp Madara's mask as she spoke, revealing his face.

"Aa? Are you having second thoughts?" He asked in a lightly teasing voice, evoking a small smile from her. She tucked the mask between his belt and hip, leaving it there for safekeeping as she brushed a wayward strand of her hair behind her ear.

"Not at all. This place is just bringing back memories." Her smile turned coy as she looked up at Madara, "Besides, I would much rather be with a murdering bunch of criminals than selling myself out. So no, no second thoughts." Seeing him laugh lifted her spirits, and the fact she _could_ actually see it sent her leaning forward, able to kiss him for once without the deterring mask and Deidara's presence. He responded in like, reaching up to touch her hair and leaning down somewhat so she didn't have to tip-toe. Time sped past, Madara's eyes slanting open when some of the pebbles on the ground noisily scattered. Saezuri froze when she heard Deidara clear his throat from behind her, whipping the mask from Madara's belt with lightning-fast hands and smacking it against his face blindly as she glanced over her shoulder with a flushed expression.

"Ridiculous." Was all the bomber said, an eyebrow raised. Saezuri's mouth twitched when she heard Madara groan lowly, knowing his nose must be smarting as he leaned away, fixing the mask to sit proper on his face. She glanced to the little clay lizard sitting by Deidara's feet like a loyal pet, striding forward and quickly scooping it up.

"How do these work?" She asked, pinching its snout and pulling. The clay morphed, reforming as soon as she let go.

"Chakra, what else, un?" Deidara spoke like she was an idiot, Saezuri pursing her lips as she flicked her eyes up.

"Obviously. But chakra just doesn't explode." She argued, experimentally grabbing the lizard in the middle and pulling hard. The clay contorted and stretched, the lizard's head and tail waving wildly as they were pulled apart.

"Oi-" Deidara reached out, just as the clay seemed to reach its breaking point. With an elastic _snap_, it separated, the two ends of the lizard flying from Saezuri's surprised hands, lighting up briefly before exploding in a flurry of energy. She covered her head with her arms, stumbling as the small wave of heat and pressure hit her from both sides. Slightly scorched skin covered her elbows as she looked out, blowing a strand out of her face in irritation.

"Actually, I don't much care how." She groused, Deidara's hidden laugh playing with his mouth enough to make her lip want to curl.

"You shouldn't play with explosives, hmm." He shrugged, turning to look out over the mountains. "I wonder where the next town is?"

"Not far from here, Deidara-senpai." Tobi piped, sending a quick, ironic glance to Saezuri. She touched her forehead delicately, inhaling to calm herself.

"Oh? Lead the way then, Tobi, hmm." Deidara flicked his hand, following after Madara as he dropped down over the side of the cliff.

"Good lord..." Saezuri murmured as she followed, unsure whether she was looking forward to the visit, or dreading it.

* * *

"Where is it, hm...?" Deidara mumbled to himself as he walked the streets of the medium-sized city as Saezuri followed at a distance with her arms crossed, Tobi at her side. She watched the short man glance around, obviously looking for something specific.

"Oi." Sae called finally, pointing off down a narrow side street mutely. Faint red lights shown from the side of buildings in the distance, and her suspicions were confirmed when Deidara moved towards them.

"Oooo, Deidara-senapi wants the dirty." Tobi cooed childishly, receiving a mild glare.

"Yeah, so?" Deidara spoke, turning his head enough to glance back at the taller man, "Who knows the next time we'll pass through civilization. We have to hunt the three tails." He was unabashed as he paused in front of the buildings, looking each over.

"Here." Saezuri dully said, striding forward into the familiar building. It felt like a dream, to be back. Everything looked more shabby, more dirty on her return- something that disturbed her mildly.

"You know this place?" Deidara was puzzled as he stood next to her, inside. They went largely unnoticed among the busy time, human voices mixing in a low drone.

"I worked here for 6 years." Her lips curled humorlessly, bolstered by Deidara's raised, incredulous eyebrow. "I was a maid, not what you're thinking." She corrected, picking out familiar, minutely aged faces.

"Huh." Was all he responded, taking the information in stride as he leaned closer to her, "So tell me which one is best." She glanced at him, his unashamed eye staring curiously right back.

"Depends what you're looking for."

"Let's put it this way; what one _won't_ give me diseases, yeah?" He glanced back out at the few women on the floor, smirking faintly at Saezuri's amused, quiet laugh.

"Well-"

"Sae_zur_i?" Narue was shuffling daintily forward, holding up the hem of her much too tight kimono, "Is that you?"

"Narue." Sae greeted calmly, nothing inviting in her tone. She glanced at Deidara, nodding her head towards the woman in front of her and quirking her brows. The blonde took the hint, grinning with a certain kind of dirty charm.

"Where in the world did you go? Fue-san was in such a rage over you!" Narue went on, Saezuri easily recognizing the hints that the buxom woman was once again, overly intoxicated. "Ne, ne, Fue-san~! Look who came back!" She raised her swooping voice over the din, gaining a fair amount of the people's attention. Sae stood with her chin high as many glanced at her curiously, some of the women standing halfheartedly.

"Saezuri!" Fue pushed apart two bystanders, walking forward with the most waspish expression Sae had ever seen on the woman's face, quite a feat in itself, "How do you figure, running away like that?"

"That's none of your concern." She warded off the manager's fury, musing how she had once been scared stiff of the woman. Now, though, Fue seemed nothing more than a dull comparison to the enemies she had faced. Sae noted Deidara moving in out of the corner of her eye, amused at how he leaned in towards Narue and settled his hand on her shoulder, whispering something in her ear.

"Wh-"

"Let's take this someplace else, yes?" Saezuri cut Fue off sharply, raising an inviting hand towards the back as if she owned the place, giving up her best smile. Fue eyed her shrewdly for several tense moments, before turning on her heel and furiously walking. Sae followed, taking the time to notice that Madara had made himself scarce, nowhere in sight.

"What did you do with yourself?" Fue was harsh as she looked Sae up and down, taking a seat on a floor cushion. She disdainfully eyed Sae's katana, to the bone white forearm guards and shinobi boots. Saezuri took the scrutiny easily, settling across from her old employer.

"I got out. You expect me to waste away here?" Sae cocked a brow, watching the faint lines in Fue's face grow sharper as she frowned dangerously.

"I took care of you for _six_ years, and this is how you repay me? Running off in the night with some stranger?" Sae almost thought Fue would spit on her, but the old woman held herself in check, instead glaring as hard as she could. Sae just shrugged and reached back to pull out her katana. The metal sang lightly from the activity, shining dully under the lamplight.

"Why not? After all, I can take care of myself now. Nor do I have to worry about being sold in service like I knew you wanted." She pointed the tip inches from the bridge of Fue's nose, the woman going pale but holding her ground.

"As if I believe that. I bet it's all for show." Shuddering to her feet, Fue crossed her arms inside her sleeves and looked down her nose at Sae, who was glancing away and slipping her sword back into its sheath, "You deserve _nothing_, you ungrateful wench." And this time she actually did spit, the fluid hitting the floorboards and splattering scarcely onto Sae's boot. Freezing at the gesture, Saezuri looked up, murderously glaring at the back of Fue's head as she walked away. Slipping to her feet soundlessly, her katana was out again with a flick of her fingers- with three steps Sae collided with the woman's back, hooking an arm easily around her neck and holding the tip against her throat.

"Just show, yes?" Sae murmured in Fue's ear, voice unamused and deadly. Feeling the small tremor through her weathered limbs, Sae let the woman go, disappearing with a rush of chakra and a simple handseal. She was absent to observing Fue stumble, spinning to see thin air behind her. Brushing off her threadbare kimono's sleeves with a chill, she glanced nervously around at the patrons who were silently watching, before moving to busy herself in the kitchen and try to ignore the tremor of her hands.

* * *

Madara quickly deduced something had happened when Saezuri appeared outside the brothel with a pop of chakra, her features drawn thin and tension clinging in her lean muscles. He shifted from his position on the rooftop opposite, leaning forward as she glanced back at the building dubiously, seeming to debate her next action. With a flick of her hair, however, she moved off towards the heart of the city, steps dull against the cobblestone streets. He stealthily followed her, sneaking across rooftops like a sleek panther. With a sigh, she paused inside an alleyway, touching a weathered poster and glancing wistfully at its contents. Madara crouched into a tiny alcove, shadow covering his face as she glanced up suspiciously, studying the tops of the buildings. His chest stilled and he grew ever quiet, satisfied when she resumed walking, trailing light fingers over the stone wall. Pulling the mask from his face, he smirked as she blended into the small amount of people on the main street, the sun setting just right so that it goldened his vision enough to blind him temporarily. With expert footwork, Madara sped across the tile rooftops, precise steps evoking not a sound form the precarious tiling. Catching sight of her collar-length hair as Saezuri glanced left and right, he stepped up onto the crest of a roof, in blatant view if only she look. She didn't glance towards him however, instead treading down another small alley. With an amused snicker, he followed right above her, looking down on her scalp that shined faintly. Just as his lips curled deviously and he leapt from the ledge, she turned, pointing straight at him as he dropped quickly.

"Where do you get off, stalking me?" She asked, stepping back to allow him enough room to land. His large frame straightened smoothly, glittering onyx eyes meeting hers easily.

"Question is, how do you get off, allowing me to?" He fired back, laughing as she shoved his chest lightly. Madara pressed a heavy hand over her head, pushing down enough to make her bend and writhe away, amused.

"Are you trying to pick a fight, eh?" She cockily asked, meeting his eyes with a challenging air.

"Save your energy, we've a three-tails to start hunting." He watched her pause, seemingly considering.

"So I finally get to see an elusive bijuu." She commented, making a subtle jab at her distance from the inner workings of Akatsuki he had painstakingly kept. Madara recognized that, glancing away with a tiny curl of his lips.

"Aa. This one is... special, but a bijuu, nonetheless." He ducked under her swatting hand, catching her small wrist, "There will be plenty of time to meet any hosts, later." He said, tilting his head as he pulled Sae to his chest roughly. Planting a kiss on her temple as she fell into him, balance lost, he was delighted by her impatient huff.

"Well, I want to see one _now_. I'm curious about these people you're killing, yet you always keep me away." Impertinent, she glanced up defiantly as her shoulders were trapped by his long arms. Madara stayed silent, watching her face closely. The same doe eyes that never really could be transformed by anger met him, her irritation only causing him amusement.

"It'll come. They really are a depressing affair to meet, I can't see why you would want to speed it along." He glossed over, pressing his nose into her hair. Sae sighed, seeing that she wouldn't win, instead relaxing into his hold.

"You know, you're the most infuriating person I think I've ever met." She sullenly said, blinking slowly when he merely laughed, patting her back as if consolingly. Resisting the urge to smack him, she pulled away. "How about we stay somewhere nice for once? There's a hotel I always yearned to live in when I was young." She slyly said, turning without giving him time to answer.

* * *

Thoughts? Anything you would like to suggest?


	20. Chapter 20

Large delay, I'm terribly sorry.  
The manga hasn't been inspiring at all lately, and life had a way of smacking itself into my face.

* * *

"This isn't as magical as I used to think it would be." Sae commented as she walked into the foyer of the rich building, beige marble floors shining faintly underneath her feet. Madara followed at an easy pace, slinging an arm around her hips as he glanced towards the main counter. A small bald man sat there, impeccably dressed in a formal suit that was pressed and crisp.

"May I help the young couple?" He looked up as they approached, the smile slipping from his face when he noticed they were shinobi.

"A room, please." Sae said, watching him take it in stride as he laced his hands on top of the counter.

"We're rather full at the moment, all I have available is a handful of singlets on the first floor, and the bridal suite. I'm sorry for any inconvenience." He cautiously said, carefully gauging their reactions. Sae glanced at Madara, watching him blink slowly.

"The bridal suite." He briefly stated, watching the clerk bend his head as he searched for the key on the low desk in front of him. Saezuri gave a small smile, playfully tickling the hand Madara had on her hip. He ignored the light sensation easily, reaching out and taking the key from the clerk and setting a neat pile of money on the counter.

"Thank you." The man bobbed his head lightly, slipping away the money as they moved away.

"You're not ticklish." Sae said as she grabbed the key from him, tapping up the set of stairs with light feet.

"Is that a crime?" Madara drawled as he followed her, tucking his hands into his pockets. He joined her on the landing as Sae paused and glanced at him bemusedly.

"No, but it would be more fun if you were." With a cheeky tone of voice she turned away, easily finding the door that the keys belonged to and opening it. Blinking, she noted the airy whites the room was decorated with, material draped from the ceiling and covering the walls, created a bubbled appearance. "He wasn't lying when he said bridal." She threw the keys carelessly on a side table, going to look out the large french doors that opened to a balcony. Her eyelashes feathered as she looked to Madara from the corner of her eye, turning sleekly on her heel. There were no words needed as she leaned forward, her chuckles muted as she pressed her lips coolly to his, pulling back to gauge his reaction. His lidded eyes were enough to send her back, pressing with a firmer resolve and raising her hands to tuck into his short hair. With a swift dip, Madara hiked his hand behind her thigh and pulled her hip up onto his, fisting his other hand at the nape of her neck and overwhelming her lips. A breathless giggle escaped her voice as he guided her to the bed, hands crawling up her stomach to cause a spasm to seize her abs at the ticklish sensation. He paused above her, hovering and watching the way Sae's eyelids fluttered open, curious. Leaning down smoothly, he tilted her chin with his thumb and forefinger to expose the shell of her ear, breathing hotly into it. It was enough to feather her vision dark, her fingers digging into the dip of his shoulder blades as he moved to bite the thickness of the muscle in her neck, increasing pressure enough to cause her to jerk away. Saezuri caught his lips again as he lowered his weight, pressing her down and causing her heart to leap into her throat, her shoulders to raise as she wrapped her arms under his shoulders, feeling down the knobs his spine presented. He growled faintly when she bit into his bottom lip, his hand pulling her hair in response, evoking a smile from her as she shifted, plunging her mouth closer into his.

* * *

Saezuri woke and gave a strangled gasp when the far right wall exploded inwards, debris littering the floor as she rolled off the bed with a thump. Moonlight streamed in as she fought to clear the dust that was blinding her eyes, also hearing Madara drop to the floor and out of the direct path of the opening.

"Finally, hmm!" Deidara grunted as he dropped in through the large hole in the wall, landing with a lightweight thump. Saezuri drew her katana and flew out of the shadows, swinging for his neck lethally; Deidara's eye flew wide as he sluggishly raised an arm to block, his heart thudding high as Sae skidded to a stop, realizing who he was.

"The hell are you doing?" Sae scalded as she backpedaled, lowering her katana.

"I could ask you the same!" Deidara raised his voice, standing from his crouch. His left hand clenched and his right was immersed in the clay bag on his hip as he looked around, sweeping forward when he saw Tobi crouched in the corner, fixing his mask. "Let's go, hmm! Police are going to be crawling all over this place soon." He gripped the back of Madara's cloak, hauling him to his feet and shoving between his shoulder blades towards the hole blown in the wall.

"What happened, Senpai?" Tobi tittered as he grabbed onto the edge of the crumbling stone and wood, refusing to be kicked out under Deidara's boot that was pressing into his hip.

"Go!" The bomber shoved off, Tobi falling out the hole with a flail.

"Deidara-senpaiiiiiiiiii!" Tobi's wail dropped off as Sae heard him land noisily on the ground two stories below. Deidara glanced at her quietly, pulling out his hand and pressing the clay that came out onto his palm.

"C'mon." He beckoned to Saezuri, jumping out the hole himself. She dithered for a moment, before reaching out and grabbing the large, ornate vase that was in the corner, leaping out after the two Akatsuki. They were already far down the alley, and under different circumstances she would have laughed at the image presented by Deidara shoving Tobi's back to make him keep running at pace. Used to running through the streets, she quickly caught up to them, often lowly leaping over crates and trash barrels.

"Tell me what really is going on. Normal police wouldn't make you run like so." Sae lowly asked of Deidara as she drew level with him, ignoring how Madara stumbled and nearly tripped onto his face. He was a better runner than her, she knew that he was only staying in character as he flailed wildly, whining.

"Iwa ANBU." He looked to her out of the corner of his eye, "They're looking for you, too." Surprised, Sae nearly tripped over her feet as Madara had not two seconds ago.

"What- how?" She looked to the back of Madara's head in confusion, looking for guidance- for the first time a tickle of fear shot down her throat, her muscles tightening in apprehension. Iwa should have no record of her, her skills, anything. Adjusting her grip on the vase tucked under her elbow, Saezuri moved to begin the seals to summon Sen, blinking in surprise when Deidara caught her hands, clenching his fingers over hers to prevent them from moving further.

"Don't. They have a sensor with them, un." He let go of her to duck under a scaffolding rig, Tobi leaping through the bars while Sae leapt over, abandoning the vase and letting it shatter as she threw out her arms, catching her weight and springing back to her feet nimbly.

"I wanted that." She frowned as she glanced back at the ceramic shards littering the ground, groaning in frustration, "That would've paid back Kakuzu!"

"I think we have larger worries." Deidara fired back as he skid to a halt, catching Tobi's sleeve as he went barreling past, Sae crashing into his back and ending up in a tangled heap as Deidara shifted back on his feet, throwing the clay he had been harboring in his clenched palm. Saezuri glanced up just in time to see a variety of three ANBU all moving into an elaborate battle position, falling from the rooftops on either side of the alley. Scrambling to her feet, she raised her katana and braced the tip with her left hand just in time to catch an ANBU's kunai thrust.

"Dazai Saezuri, Iwagakure is taking you into custody." The voice behind the mask was obviously female, Sae catching glimpse of a very long, thick braid at the nape of the woman's neck. Skipping back cautiously, Sae lowered the tip of her katana to rest by her feet, tilting her head to scrutinize the ANBU. The woman allowed her a brief repast, squaring her shoulder under Sae's gaze and flicking strands of strawberry blonde that had loosened from the braid.

"Iwa has no claim on me." Sae said in confusion, narrowing her eyes when the ANBU seemed to tire of saying still, bolstered by her teammates engaging with Deidara and Tobi. The woman flew forward, clashing with Sae and throwing them both to the street in a bold move. Letting go of her katana hilt to catch the woman's punch, Sae bucked her opposite elbow up to smash into the ANBU's mask with a vicious abandon. The bone cracked, the woman screaming in pain as she scrambled away, ripping the mask from her face. Shards of the bone had exploded inward, piercing the delicate flesh under her left eye- Saezuri rolled back onto her shoulder blades, kicking her legs back to carry her over and back up to her feet.

"Perhaps we have no claim on the skills you've gained," The woman straightened, her eyebrow ticking at Tobi's obnoxious squeal as he was knocked onto his back some thirty yards away, "But we do have a claim on your relatives." Saezuri stilled, watching the woman wipe away some of the blood gushing from her cheek, obviously disgusted with the wound as she looked back up and locked eyes with Sae, "We've found your father."

* * *

Thoughts?


	21. Chapter 21

I'M SO SORRY!

My deepest apologies. Updates will be on track again!

* * *

"You're lying." Sae said as she bent to grab the hilt of her katana, slipping it into a reverse-grip, "I won't fall for such a ridiculous scam." Venom iced her tone as she skipped back, throwing her sword with a startling amount of force. The ANBU flinched as she dove out of the way, whirling as her teammate gave out a cry, Saezuri's katana cleanly piercing his shoulder through.

"You..." The woman flipped her gaze back to Sae, who stood with a smug touch to her lips.

"Aww, I wanted to get him!" Tobi whined loudly, crossing his arms childishly as his ANBU opponent staggered, gripping the katana and pulling it out.

"Get serious, Tobi!" Deidara snarled as he dropped from the building rooftop, the third ANBU on his tail with a fire jutsu streaming from his lips, exposed from his tilted mask. Saezuri moved and started handseals, gaining the female ANBU's attention once more.

"We'll just have to take you in for associating with a known Iwagakure fugitive, then." She snarled as she moved into a battle-stance, strawberry blonde braid whipping to the right as she darted forward. Sae finished her seals and raised her pointer fingers to her mouth, blowing a thick stream of water that caught the petite woman in the chest.

"Fugitive? I didn't flee from anything, hm!" Deidara yelled as he landed with a strong stance, sliding on his feet some as the clay barrier he had thrown up was battered by the fire jutsu.

"You're a fugitive classified in the bingo book! There's no escaping it, you're coming back with us." The obvious lead ANBU stated, straightening from his crouch and wiping the soot from his mouth, "All three of you!"

"Hey hey! I have nothing to do with this!" Tobi skidded to a halt, pointing an accusing finger at the ANBU that had spoken. Saezuri paused in irk when the third ANBU, whose shoulder was still weeping blood, fell on Madara and pinned him with an elaborate hold. "Can't- breathe!" Tobi wheezed as he weakly reached out with a hand, the ANBU's legs wrapped tightly around his neck.

"Saezuri!" Deidara snapped, throwing an arm towards the sky. Startled, Sae whipped around in time for the woman ANBU's foot to catch her in the neck, sending her to the rubble-filled street with a choke.

"Damn it." Sae hissed as she rolled out of the way of the woman's follow-up stomp, sand flying into her eyes. Blindly reaching back to her sheath, her hand was met with empty air as she groped around for the hilt of her katana.

"Looking for this?" The ANBU woman asked, holding up Sae's sword. The metal gleamed slightly in the light, betraying its owner as the ANBU plunged it deep through Saezuri's arm and into the street below. The woman kept a firm grip on the hilt as she knelt to peer at Sae's contorted face, blonde strands sticking to her forehead as sweat perspired from her pores. "You'd make a formidable comrade." The ANBU tilted her head slightly, touching Sae's cheek with one hand curiously, "Come back to Iwa with us."

"Get," Sae huffed, flexing her pierced arm, "your grubby hands," she could feel the metal where it was slipped between the two main bones in her forearm, "OFF my sword!" With a carefully controlled thrust, she caught the woman in the jaw with her free hand, kicking her in her chest as she was stumbling backwards. With a pained groan Saezuri pulled her katana from her arm, chilled when for a brief moment she could see the street below through her flesh. Running forward, Saezuri feinted to the left and swung her katana from the right, cleanly creating a gash through the woman's uniform over her ribs. Quickly using dirty street moves, Sae knocked her in the teeth with the butt of her hilt, before grabbing the back of the woman's recoiling head and bringing her knee up and into her forehead. Fast, Sae hooked a slim hand under the woman's stiff ANBU vest near her waistline, jerking her body forward and sweeping her feet out with a vicious kick.

"Enough!" The lead ANBU barreled into Sae, knocking her wavering balance off as she released the woman. Instead of attacking further the man just hovered cautiously as Saezuri recovered, her senses wild.

"I'll get you back for that." The woman ANBU spat as she stood, her face broken and bleeding.

"Stop. Chase after Deidara while I wrap up here." The lead snarled, calling attention to the fact that Deidara had slipped off. Sae's dark eyes darted around in search for either him or a clay creature, but could see nothing other than a moaning Tobi still crushed in an ANBU's grip.

"Fine." The woman shortly said, her braid trailing after her as she nimbly leapt from the street, catching a balcony bar with a swift hand and hopping over the rooftop and out of sight.

"Your father is waiting." The lead turned his attention back to Sae, the dark holes of his mask enough to raise the hairs down her spine. She dithered for a moment, cautiously lowering her katana after a tense silence.

"How do I kn-"

"Sae_zuri_." She abruptly cut herself off as Madara's tone lashed out viciously, his head turned enough so that his single eyehole was boring into her.

"But I..." She trailed off, flinching when Madara easily tore the ANBU off from him and threw the man into the adjacent alleyway. The lead observed her reaction with a tense suspicion, his arms flying up when Madara turned towards him.

"Go." He shortly said, reaching out with a large hand and catching Saezuri's wrist. The lead paused for a moment before recollecting his senses, raising one hand and disappearing with a neat pouf. "You need to _focus_." Madara turned to Sae, who was looking away sullenly. He tapped her collarbone twice, stilling when he noted her still refusing attitude to grant his attention. His lips pursed faintly under his mask as he resorted to pinching the delicate skin of her neck harshly, her responding squeal enough to make his mood dark.

"I _am_ focused, just fine!" Sae finally snapped as she brought her gaze to the single eyelet in the orange mask, irked enough by the object to snatch it from Madara's face. His greeting expression was almost enough to make her want to replace it, his pulled eyebrows and firmed lips speaking of his irritation.

"You're not. We're after the three-tails, remember?" His slightly caustic tone caused Saezuri to clam up, her jaw set.

"Just because _your_ family is all dead doesn't mean mine is." Saezuri clenched her hand that held the mask, the ceramic groaning underneath the pressure. She knew she had crossed a line by how still Madara was as he blankly stared at her, before he suddenly lunged for her. His huge hand was just closing over the dome of her skull and the other fisting in her shirt dress dangerously as her hands were flying up in a useless defense when they both heard a scattering of small pebbles.

"We'll discuss this later." Madara lowly said as both their frozen muscles tweaked with adrenaline; he eased his grip off Sae and she smoothed her clothes calmly, facing the direction the noise had come from.

"Come out!" She raised her voice after a few pregnant seconds, sighing in relief when it was Deidara, haggard and breathing hard. Her fingers twitched wildly when she realized that she had been holding Madara's mask, but when she whirled around in search of the orange object, she found it already on the Uchiha's face.

"Having a lover's spat, hm?" Deidara eyed them both, his nostril flaring as he hunched to the side to spit. He looked at the splattered blood with disgust, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "Nevermind. Let's just go already."

"What happened to the ANBU?" Sae asked, more curiosity than apprehension in her tone; Deidara said nothing as he worked his palm with his fingers, revealing a sparrow.

"Don't worry about it, un." He finally spoke as her pressed his thin fingers together, the bird enlarging. He climbed on top as Tobi followed, orange mask turning towards Sae with an air of expectation.

"I'll take Sen. Go!" She flicked a hand, ever aware of Madara's clenched hand.

"Fine. Head southeast if you get lost." Deidara said as the bird leapt into the air, leaving Saezuri alone in the street. She waited until the clay was out of sight before warily adjusting the arm guards attached to her forearms, sneaking into the shadows carefully with one last glance at the sky.

* * *

Thoughts?


	22. Chapter 22

Relief! Sweet relief!

(The manga has been rather uninspiring. Even _with_ all the madara-goodies. I don't enjoy seeing him so easily beaten down, quite so much.)

* * *

"You're being quiet, Tobi." Deidara glanced to the side at the masked man, "It's a rather nice change, hmm."

"Sae-chan isn't coming." Tobi crossed him arms sullenly, voice betraying the pout to his lips.

"Euhh? What makes you say that?" Deidara cocked a brow, his expression dubious. When Tobi refused to elaborate, the bomber just shrugged his shoulders and looked back ahead, dropping the matter. The clay bird swooped to a lower altitude, clearing through a cloud and emerging with a small pouf of water vapor that hung in the sky for a few moments before dispersing as the sun rose higher.

* * *

"Five o'clock!" The male ANBU that had been injured in the shoulder cried out as he leapt to his feet, his other two teammates spinning to sweep their gaze over their right shoulders. Saezuri stood at the end of the alley they had chosen to regroup in, hands held up in peace.

"Take me to see him." Her voice was grim as she let her arms drop, striding into the dimmed alley. She was wary of the ANBU, eyeing their still-tensed bodies.

"Where's the masked one?" The lead accused, still suspicious of the rapid change in behavior he had observed before leaving to find his subordinates. Saezuri said nothing, merely lowering her onyx eyes.

"Abandoned, huh?" The woman called out snobbily, lifting her chin to the left as she spoke. Within a millisecond Sae had her katana pulled and pointing at her roughed face; all the ANBU immediately went on the offensive, their arms flying up in reflex.

"He has nothing to do with this. Take me to see my father before I change my mind." Sae scorned, knowing the risk she was taking, both in disobeying Madara yet again and putting her trust in the ANBU. With a flourish she sheathed her blade, looking expectantly at the lead. He gave her one short nod and signaled something to his team, both ninja disappearing with a flicker.

"They'll be flanking us to make sure you haven't set us up in an ambush." He inclined his masked face some, regarding her more closely, "I'll be the one to take you into Iwa."

"Fine." Saezuri followed after the ANBU as he took off at an easy run, passing through the city and into the outer lands. Already her heart clogged her throat, limbs trembling as she made them cooperate.

* * *

"There!" Deidara threw an arm out as they passed over the beginnings of the sea hours later, able to pick out the dark mass traveling fast under the water from the height they were at, "Let's go, Tobi!" He yelled excitedly, throwing out a dragon from his palm. The creation boomed to a larger size seconds later, Deidara abandoning the bird in favor of his new explosive.

"Oooo! This is Formation 'D' right, Deidara-senpai?" Tobi called as he leaned over the edge of the bird, looking down at the bomber as the dragon dove for the water.

"Hmm!" Was all Tobi heard as his partner disappeared lower. He squalled as the bird dipped too, digging his hands into the clay and screaming obnoxiously. Deidara leaned low over the dragon's neck as the water approached closer, before he swept back up to his feet and jumped off the clay with a explosion of chakra, landing back next to Tobi. The dragon entered the water with a tremendous splash, exploding with such a force that droplets arced high into the sky. "I got his attention, now you go for him, un." Deidara looked expectantly at his partner, irked when the masked man shook his hands wildly.

"You're muuuuch better at this, senpai!" Tobi tittered, falling off the bird when Deidara moved towards him threateningly.

"Good god." The bombed murmured as Tobi hit the water with an ungraceful splash, the Sanbi rising out of the water with a dull, angry roar.

* * *

"Surreal..." Sae murmured under her breath as she came upon the stone walls surrounding Iwa, able to see the conical buildings. The lead ANBU was silent as he angled towards the gates, Saezuri able to see a single chuunin guard lounging against the supporting pillar, and a team of elite med-nin awaiting their arrival. Their presence sent Sae on edge; she could remember medics always being on hand for returning ANBU teams during the war- however, she had never seen a full team on welcoming duty.

"Dazai Saezuri." A medic greeted her, tilting his clean-shaven head minutely, "Welcome back. The Tsuchikage sends his regards."

"Just let me see my father." Sae refrained from snapping, schooling her tone to be as mild as she could tolerate. The med-nin nodded once to one of his comrades, Sae choking in confusion when the team sprang into action, pinning her into the dust with frightening efficiency.

"Sweet dreams, brat." The man hovering over her spoke, plunging a needle into the main artery in her neck. Automatically she could feel her head grow heavy, panic rising in her breast when her vision feathered dark.

The first thing she was aware of was a burning pressure in her throat, eyes flaring open when the pressure moved. Sae focused on a nurse's face that was merely a foot from her own, the woman's blonde hair slicked back into a sleek bun. A long-handled swab was in her hand, probing deep into Saezuri's throat.

"Utano, can you get a good sample?" Sae heard a deep male voice ask to her left, her eye squinting and watering when the swab prodded deeper in her throat, the woman spinning the handle mercilessly.

"I just did." Utano's voice was flat with a low jazz-like quality, as she pulled the end from Sae's mouth. As soon as the object freed itself from her, Saezuri strained at the straps that were holding her to the operating table enough to lift her head a fraction, getting a quick glimpse of the sterile white room.

"The fuck do you think you're all doing?" Her voice was shrill and girlish as she lashed out, gaining the doctor's attention. His round glasses shined when he looked up from the clipboard he had been writing on, a black goatee covering his chin. He merely stared for a long moment, before moving to write more. Utano kept her back turned as she fiddled with a set of containers on a low counter, placing the swab end in a testing dish.

"After you." The doctor motioned to Utano, the blonde nurse's heels clicking lowly as she exited, the doctor following out after her without a single glance at Saezuri as she rattled the gurney.

"I see you're awake." Sae strained her head to locate the new voice, finally settling on the Tsuchikage as he strode to her side with a stern expression. He was shorter than Sae remembered, his stout frame unbalancing his appearance.

"Where's my father?" Sae asked with an irritated scowl, her face dropping when the he held up a box, the lid open and displacing a fine, white powder.

"We found his bones, finally. Konoha territory." The Kage sniffed, looking at her with a blank expression. "A better question is, how you came to be associated with the Akatsuki."

"That's none of your business." Sae spat, her hands clenching and desperately trying to reach the strap holding them down along with her pelvis. The Tsuchikage watched disinterestedly, snapping the lid of her father's ashes closed with an air of finality.

"Well, we'll all be here when you decide to talk. Meanwhile, Utano seems to be learning quite well from you. It seems quite beneficial to apply theory on a live being." He quirked a brow before leaving the room, Saezuri letting her head thump to the metal table soundly. She supposed she deserved this for leaving the protection of Madara yet again.

* * *

Thoughts? (:


	23. Chapter 23

I'm inspired, once more. Updates should be pretty regular again. ^^

SO excited to get through this. I can't wait for Madara to be Madara again. Writing Tobi, much as I love him, gets old.

* * *

"Tobi." Kisame tilted his head some as he looked to the thumb of the hand he was standing on, the sealing of the Sanbi already started.

"Hmmm?" Madara turned to look at the shark nin, mask shining faintly under the light of Akatsuki's combined chakras.

"Where's the gaki? I assumed she stuck with you."

"She ditched us, un." Deidara cut in, a faint laugh underlying his voice, "Idiot is probably already dead. Iwa ANBU don't play around."

"Kaaa? ANBU finally caught up with her?" Kisame was thoughtful, before he suddenly remembered, "Oi, Tobi, didn't you meet her that way? Helping her away from ANBU?"

"Tobi misses his loverrrrr~!" The masked man wailed, flailing around on his assigned fingertip as he stomped his feet childishly.

"Tobi!" Pein snapped from the opposite thumb of the statue, "Quiet down and focus, else we lose this extraction completely." With a defeated air Madara slouched, hoisting his sealed hands a little higher sullenly.

* * *

Dead. They had lured her in with her dead father's ashes.

The thought made Saezuri boil with rage, rage she hadn't felt since Madara had accused her of trying to foil his plans. Calming herself down enough so her vision cleared, Sae strained to lift her head against the restraints, able to see wide straps across her chest, hips, and feet. So pressed, she couldn't even fill her lungs properly; the straps cut into her bare skin, clothes gone except for the bandages that bound her breasts and the formfitting shorts she kept under her dress.

"You'll take turns after I give a proper demonstration. Class, meet Exhibit A." A med-nin stepped inside the room, five students dressed in apprentice clothes following him.

"I have a name." Saezuri played docile, turning her head enough to look at the small group. One student touched her mouth uncertainly, glancing to the instructor.

"You all have your needles, correct?" The nin completely ignored her, holding up a hypodermic needle in example, "You grasp the arm like so, and plunge," He stuck the needle into Sae's arm, blood filling the once clear tube, "Extract and swipe the needle for any residual blood."

"Well _fuck_ you too." Sae snarled just in pause after the instructor's speech, rattling the gurney as her ab muscles contracted in reflex to her rage, "You all can go to hell!"

"Patients can sometimes be difficult, hallucinatory, or otherwise conflicted. You deal with them as they come." The nin settled a heavy hand on her forehead, pressing down enough that Saezuri was forced to wince and close her eyes, settling some. "You may start." A sharp inhale wracked Sae's chest as needles were stuck into each of her elbows, neither as precise or practiced as the first. Over and over the students tried to get a decent sample of her blood, the doctor merely muffling her mouth when Sae finally cracked and started screaming bloody murder.

* * *

"Hey, you.." Sae quietly called to the chuunin that was rifling through the medical supplies across the room, the teen lifting his head to glance at her, "Bring me the Tsuchikage."

"Like I'm going to do that! Crazy hag." He blew a raspberry, going back to looking for what he was sent for.

"Tell whoever you see in the halls that Dazai Saezuri wants someone to speak to, then, you little snot." Sae sighed, letting her head turn back to looking at the ceiling. The boy said nothing more, whatever gestures he made lost to her as she let her eyes close wearily.

She refused to be a medical guinea pig any longer.

...

"Speak." Saezuri glanced up to see an ANBU standing by her bedside, the mask familiar. He shifted some when she wriggled under the straps, supremely uncomfortable.

"Before I spill, can I at least get some clothes and out of this _thing_?" She was irritated, beyond belief. The ANBU seemed to consider, before whistling. Within a second three other ANBU appeared, Sae realizing that it was the team that had caught her in the first place.

"Clothes, cuffs, and a hood. Go." He ordered, the three saluting precisely and disappearing with vague poufs of chakra. Saezuri was silent until they came back, the female ANBU gripping her hands as the others undid the straps. Sae winced as she looked at the deep bruises they had made, before cooperating in getting her shirt-dress over her head and allowing the ANBU to handcuff her hands and slip the hood over her head. The halls were cold as they led her downward, traversing several flights of stairs. Saezuri shivered lightly as she was brought into a different room, feeling the floor turn from concrete to a polished hardwood.

"Ah, the subject has decided to talk. Sit, sit." The Tsuchikage's voice was flat, Sae's eyes contracting wildly when the hood was whisked from her head, noon-bright sunlight hitting her face. She looked around the large, airy room as she cautiously walked forward towards the cushion opposite the kage, a low coffee table separating them.

"If I do this," Saezuri spoke, looking down at the squat man as he met her gaze squarely, "I want to be released, at least into the village."

"I'll judge that at the end." The Tsuchikage graveled, gesturing to the cushion again, "You won't be subject to medical procedures anymore, however." Saezuri cautiously settled on the plush pillow, itching her hands together uncomfortably. She could feel her chakra stifled, by the cuffs presumably.

"Akatsuki is..." Sae bit her lip, thinking. She couldn't betray Madara. _Wouldn't_. She heaved a breath, closing her eyes, "Akatsuki is a mercenary organization."

"We _know_ that, we've employed them on a number of occasions." The Tsuchikage's tone turned haughty, Sae's eyes flaring open in surprise, "What we don't know is their motive or approximated size. Those are the things we're interested in."

"I-" Saezuri thought fast, her mind racing, "I've only met Deidara and his partner. I'm not clued in to the inner workings, I'm only traveling with them because they allow." She held her breath, praying the kage would take that and be satisfied. The old man itched his temple, looking at the coffee table with a stone expression.

"The partner; who is he?"

"Euhh- He's merely a disposable." Sae rattled off quickly, leaning forward in earnest, "He provides support for Deidara. That's all."

"I'm hard pressed to believe that. The report lists a quick change in behavior and deadly aura." The Tsuchikage's expression hardened, Sae's heart leaping into her throat.

"He's just presumptuous. He's attacked me on numerous occasions, he doesn't know his place yet." The thought was amusing, though she didn't allow it to show.

"Does this 'he' have a name?"

"Tobi is all I've ever heard him called." Saezuri bit her lip as the kage seemed to mull the information over. She flinched when he snapped his fingers, an ANBU appearing with a light pouf.

"Take her to prison cell H." He ordered, the ANBU grabbing hold of the links between the cuffs on Sae's wrists and pulling. She was hauled to her feet and the hood pulled back over her head, before being thrown on the ANBU's shoulder and feeling her head spin from a translocation jutsu. Saezuri's toes curled when she was set onto a freezing cold floor, stone by the feel of it. She was taken down two different halls, before the ANBU pulled the hood from her head- she stood inside a frustratingly white room, a squat bed in one corner covered with white, bland sheets, and a small sink and toilet opposite. The ANBU said nothing to her, only folding the hood in his hands and leaving, the door ominous sounding as it thudded shut. Sae heard a myriad of clicks as locks were turned, and as soon as silence fell, she flew to the door. Laying her cheek against the stone, she could feel it was dense. Far too dense for her to do anything about it, handcuffed and shoeless. Closing her eyes, she allowed her forehead to rest against the coolness of the door, before tiptoeing to the bed, sitting and kicking her feet up. Her arms strained as she laid back on them, the cuffs biting into the delicate skin covering her wrists.

This wasn't any better than the medical room.

* * *

"Good work." Pain watched the last of the Sanbi be sucked into the statue, the mouth closing with a boom, "The Yonbi, Hachibi and Kyuubi remain."

"C'mon c'mon c'mon..." Tobi danced nervously on his fingertip, clenching and unclenching his hands as Pain spoke; quite a few members were eyeing him, Itachi especially.

"We'll assemble next when a bijuu is captured. Dismissed." Pain held up a hand seal, disappearing with a faint buzzing crackle.

"Tobi has to find his woman!" Madara shot off the statue with a surge of chakra, hitting the cave floor at a run.

"Oi, get back here, bastard!" Deidara called after him angrily, hopping off his own finger. He was unaware of Itachi's slow blink before the Uchiha himself disappeared, the other members following suit with a faint murmur.

"Hurry hurry Deidara-senpai! Let's mooove!" Tobi called as the bomber ran after him, perplexed on how Tobi's back was only getting farther and farther away. Finally skidding to a stop, Deidara's chest heaved as he fashioned a clay bird, jumping on the creature's back. Tobi squalled when the bird swooped low and Deidara caught the back of his cloak, lifting him onto the bird's back with an irritated expression.

"How you run like that, I have no idea, hmm." He commented in an ornery tone, an eyebrow twitching when Tobi prodded at his side, urging him to go faster. With barely a warning, Deidara wound back and punched the back of Tobi's head, the man flying forward from the impact. "And don't touch me, you little imp." Deidara's tone was murderous, his gaze merciless as Tobi squirmed, holding the back of his head.

"S-sorry senpai." He checked one of his hands as if to look for blood, unaware of Deidara's clenched hand.

* * *

Thoughts? :D


	24. Chapter 24

~170 visitors to the last chapter and only 7 reviews.  
That's about one review in every 24 people reading. Please, can I get a little more response than that?  
I won't be the jerk that says she won't update or anything like that, but I do ask that at least a couple more people step forward.  
Reviews help motivate me. They keep me going.  
Tell me what you like about the chapter- hell, tell me what you hated about it. Even just a quick "hi, good job, I liked this-and-that."  
Or, on the reverse, a quick "bitch, this sucked, get yo' ass back on track before I bludgeon you."

Thank you, lovely readers.

* * *

Saezuri snapped to stillness when she heard the locks to her door start to turn, raising her head from where she was burrowed into the sheets; the room became even more freezing at night, or what she presumed was night as there were no windows. The stone door skid on the floor as it opened, an ANBU slipping in, carrying a bowl. Saezuri stared him down as he moved and placed it on the single table in the room, craning her head to see two others standing guard at the door, which boomed shut as soon as the ANBU exited. Blowing a strand of her unruly hair out of her face, Sae frowned.

There _had_ to be a way to escape.

She knew she would have just one chance. Sitting up in bed, she shook her head, managing to get the flyaway strands of her hair out of her eyes, before setting her feet on the floor. Immediately she jerked them away, stunned at the lack of warmth. Taking a sheet from the mattress, she laid it out on the floor best she could with handcuffed hands, grabbing the thin blanket and making a further path to the table. Leaning over the bowl, she could see it was some sort of soup- nothing that she would touch. Soup was about the easiest thing to poison without notice. Glancing about the room, her eyes settled on the toilet; bearing the floor she walked over, lifting a foot and edging her toe under the lip of the tank top. With a grimace, she pushed up as hard as she could, feeling her toe bruise. She was rewarded when the heavy ceramic top fell to the floor though, a crack splitting down the middle. Moving, Sae nudged her foot under an edge, biting her lip in concentration as she lifted it a few inches off the floor and let it drop once more. The glass split in half, to which Saezuri pushed one side against the wall, sitting carefully and backing up towards it. She grasped the sharp edge carefully with her hands, laying it on the connecting material between the cuffs- it wasn't quite wire, more of a combination of plastics and something stiffer. The cuffs bit at her wrists as she mindlessly sawed, feeling the material chipping away ever so slowly. After what seemed like hours, she finally felt her hands snap apart, lifting them in front of her face in relief. Her wrists were bleeding and bruised, but still fully functional, she found, as she rotated them curiously, ignoring the pain. Limbering up to her feet unsteadily, Sae let her arms swing as she whirled, grabbing up the half of the toilet lid. Slamming it against the table edge yielded an assortment of shards, of which she picked the two sharpest, easiest to hold pieces. Tucking those under the hem of her shorts on her left leg, she picked the lesser shards off the floor and dumped them into the sink, before grabbing the other half of the unbroken lid. Setting that on the table, Sae combed her hair back with her fingers before setting her hands lightly on the table, resolved to wait. Her nerves tumbled on edge for nearly two hours, her patience rewarded when she heard the locks all start to click. Gripping the heavy ceramic, she flew forward as soon as the door opened, smashing the ANBU in the head. The blow was hard enough that the lid shattered under her fingers, the shinobi crumpling to his knees formlessly. Aware of the tiny opportunity she had made, Sae grabbed the shards from where they were pressed against her leg, feeling her skin split under their hasty removal; with a lunge, she got the first straight through the mask hole of the second ANBU, flinging the second shard at the third's neck and gaining a lucky blow. The ANBU crippled down with a gurgle as she pulled the first shard from the remaining ANBU's eye, his recoiling body giving her enough of a chance to follow through with a quick jab to his throat. His windpipe whistled as he gasped for breath, Saezuri falling to her knees as she searched his armor. Gaining a set of kunai, she ran off at a hasty pace, leaving the dying man to wheeze.

Skidding around a corner, Sae's feet made dull slaps as she rushed, holding the kunai to her chest protectively. Catching glance of a window she knew she was drawing nearer towards the outer walls of the building, making a beeline for the opening. With a practiced leap Sae crashed through the window feet first, her heels shattering the glass without harm to her as she flared her limbs. Three stories above the ground, her heart leapt into her throat but she preserved, starting her tuck before she hit the ground, minimalizing her downward momentum. Roughly she rolled, gaining back to her feet almost drunkenly as her senses spun. Shouts began to break out, Saezuri not taking the time to look behind her but making her way towards the outskirts of the village.

...

She didn't know how she was doing it. It seemed to her that a whole platoon of Iwa shinobi were on her trail trough the rocky recesses outside the village, yet every time one of them approached, Sae managed to slip out of their grip thinly. The element of surprise and luck seemed to be her friends today; however, something had to give, Sae knew. Her lungs burned and her breath came in wheezing gasps, limbs trembling faintly from exertion. She cursed the chakra cuffs still binding her wrists, separate but still fulfilling their purpose of cutting off her energy flow.

"There she is!" She heard a faint yell from the direction she was running, skidding to a stop violently when she heard a scattering of rocks as someone approached. Glancing behind her before facing forward, Saezuri tensed; the second she saw a glimpse of a human shoulder from behind a boulder she flew forward, raising her leg just as they rounded the rock.

"Sae-chan!" It took a second for it to click in her brain as the orange mask registered with her- Sae froze mid-kick, falling to the ground with an awkward flail.

"Tobi!" She scrambled to her feet, running forward. With a jump she latched onto him, wrapping her legs around his waist and burying her face into his neck, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Sae whispered into his ear, grabbing hold of his head with her delicate hands and kissing his temple. Madara said nothing in response, merely pressing a hand against her back to secure her hold on him.

"Oi." Deidara offered a hand down to the masked man as he kneeled on top of his clay bird, pulling Tobi, along with Saezuri, up with a grunt. "You're quite the idiot, hmm." Deidara said to Sae as she pulled back from clutching Tobi, their eyes meeting.

"Perhaps." Was all Saezuri said, rubbing her arms and looking away from Deidara's intense blue eye in favor of the rocky landscape passing by below. The bird flew fast and low, the wind roaring past her ears. Glancing down at herself, Sae shivered lightly at the smatterings of ANBU blood, her own also oozing out of numerous gashes she had gained.

"What is this?" Madara quietly asked, his voice a mix of his own serious tone and Tobi's annoying drawl as he carefully picked up one of Sae's ankles. She blinked, knowing that he was fighting falling out of character. He looked up at her through her silence, tightening his hand gently around her limb; the mottling bruise twinged, its appearance making it obvious that it hadn't been caused by her escape.

"Later." Saezuri clipped, looking at Deidara strongly as the bomber glanced between her and Tobi. Deidara shrugged, taking her hint and turning forward, directing his clay creation higher in the sky.

After all- it wasn't his business. He didn't much care as long as Tobi wasn't squalling in his ear anymore.

* * *

"What in god's name were you _thinking_?" Madara confronted Saezuri as soon as he closed the door to their inn room in a border town, snagging the mask from his face in a furious gesture. He glared at her tensed back, her shoulders high in what he had come to recognize as how she held herself in pain.

"I think..." She started softly, trailing off for a moment, "I think I was holding false hopes." She glanced over her shoulder at him, her face smooth in a forced effort. Sae had expected the surly curl to his mouth, the way his eyes were sharpened- still though, her heart seized, knowing that she had let him down again. How long, since she had seen his eyes dance, seen him smirk in that triumphant way as he crossed his arms? She blinked in surprise when his hands were suddenly on her shoulders, having missed his approach.

"And these?" He slid a thumb over her upper arm, again focusing on the thick bruises as he turned her towards him, "What exactly happened?" His voice had lost some of its venom- still he spoke harshly, but no longer did Saezuri feel as if she was being lashed by it.

"..." She cast her eyes down, refusing to answer. Madara tolerated her silence for a long moment, before his hands were sliding expertly under the hem of her dress in a crisp move. Sae quietly lifted her arms in cooperation as he stripped the garment off in one smooth motion, his eyes taking in the obvious testament to the straps that had held her to the medical table as Saezuri stood in her undergarments gingerly, feeling the ache. She sighed when Madara's large hands caught her elbows, bringing them up to inspect the numerous needle pricks dotting her yellowed skin. "They wanted you. I wouldn't give them what they wanted." She stated simply, watching his expression carefully with muted eyes. His grip twitched lightly for reasons she couldn't gauge as he looked past her, expression blank.

"I've told you, numerous times. My enemies will not fool around when it comes to even a scrap of information." He guided her backwards, Saezuri sitting when the backsides of her calves touched the side of the bed. Madara leaned over her, swiping back a strand of her lengthening hair as he kissed the top of her head, "I trust this will be enough of a deterrent next time someone dangles a trap in front of your face." He murmured into her scalp, staying for a moment before he smoothed back.

"Thank you." Sae commented, referring to his appearance outside Iwa- the thought of what would have happened had he not sought her out sent a small shiver down her spine, Madara noticing it. He moved and swiped her dress from the floor, bringing it to her and helping it over her head. As Saezuri smoothed out the wrinkles and shifted how she sat, Madara pulled a small scroll from inside his cloak, unfurling it with a flick.

"As promised." He held out an Akatsuki cloak that had been stored in the scroll, Saezuri reaching out and grabbing it. She pooled the material on her lap, feeling the plush fabric. "Now at least, you don't have to worry about _comrades_ attacking you." The small quirk to his mouth alerted Sae to his humor, her shoulders easing some. She pulled the snaps apart, fixing the cloak around her shoulders; it was hooded, she noticed, the high collar absent.

"Can you get some food?" Sae lightly asked, her stomach a clenched ball of pain. Madara resealed the scroll before he set it on the low side-table, pulling the cloak from his shoulders in a swift motion. Tossing it onto a nearby armchair, he turned and thumbed Saezuri's cheek before leaving the room, his stride mild.


	25. Chapter 25

Wow, just wow.  
Thank you for the overwhelming response, even after only two days. I mean, really.

As you can see, motivation. (:

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"Tell me," Saezuri started from where she was carefully seated on the floor, setting her chopsticks down, "Why do you put up with me?" She watched Madara flick a piece of sushi up with his own chopsticks from where he sat across the coffee table from her, his eyes raising at her question.

"What do you mean by that?" He asked curiously, taking a bite of his food while watching her features as she tried to re-phrase.

"Why... don't you just leave me, for all the trouble I cause?" She tilted her head, "It seems like I always trash any plan you have going." Madara stared at her for a pregnant moment, before cracking a smile, dipping his head down towards his food as he chuckled.

"My dear," He started, Saezuri's indignant expression only causing his eyes to light more, "Do you remember why exactly I recruited you?" His amusement was obvious as he stared at Saezuri, watching her fidget lightly.

"To help you escape notice...?" She answered hesitantly, Madara nodding along with her.

"And what exactly have you just done with this most recent escapade of yours?" He didn't allow her time to answer, instead cracking open the bottle of wine sitting between their food, "You've effectively thrown Iwagakure's direct attention off Akatsuki, instead making them search for you." Madara poured them both a deep glass, neglecting to cork the bottle as he set it back down. Saezuri took the glass he offered her, unsure of how she felt about his words. "Which, of course, they will never find you. It's all a slip of hands, in effect."

"Perhaps." Was all Sae murmured as she took a sip of the wine, her eye squinting at the strength. Madara looked at her for a long moment, leaning over the table minutely.

"As for trashing my plans... You've yet to succeed at that. I don't make them lightly, nor do I choose flaky paths." He smirked over the rim of his glass, "It will take a lot more than an errant companion to throw them off course."

"Errant companion, huh?" Saezuri cocked an eyebrow, setting down her glass with a dull thunk, "Why don't you ever just stop me, then? I know you're capable of it." She looked at Madara with lidded eyes, her hand absently rotating her glass.

"Where would the fun be in that?" Madara asked, taking a large swallow of alcohol. Saezuri was mildly annoyed by his smooth face, enough to banish any doubt in where she stood compared to him.

"Fun, huh? You think these are fun?" She pressed a thumb into the bruise baring itself on her upper arm, the deeply tainted skin clearing a moment under the pressure only to fade back to a dark purple when she removed her hand.

"Your wounds are unfortunate, of course." Madara gestured with his hand, wine swinging in the glass he gripped, "As is the loss of your sword. Kakuzu will never forgive you, you know." Madara looked at her seriously, only to chuckle when Saezuri swallowed.

"Would he...?" She trailed off unsurely, suddenly apprehensive.

"With the cloak you have now, he'll know not to touch you so lightly again." Madara drained the rest of his drink, pausing in his reach for the bottle of wine when Sae offered him her glass instead. "Any Akatsuki will leave you alone, actually. If not, they'll regret it." He ended heavily, taking the cup from her.

"I'm not worried about the Akatsuki." Sae absently said, picking up the wine bottle to read the label.

"Good. Now, I have a plan for you." Madara chuckled, Sae's eyes flicking up and taking in his mood. She could see he was running on some knowledge she didn't know, the faint smugness in his manner enough of a tip.

"What?" She asked, wondering whether she should be curious or already irked.

"Deidara and I will be separating from you for a brief time. In that, I have something I need you to retrieve. A ring from a corpse, most likely guarded by ANBU."

"Why is it always ANBU?" Saezuri complained, her voice muffled as she turned her head to the side.

"No, listen." Madara said seriously, reaching out to tilt her chin back. Saezuri pursed her lips as Madara continued, "This ring will have the symbol for 'North' engraved into it, and is very important. I'm counting on you to get it."

"I understand, don't worry." Sae quipped back, planting her palm on the floor and carefully trying to stand. When she winced Madara was easily there, pulling her up with soft hands as he set her on her feet, "Still no idea for these?" Sae asked, holding her arms out where the chakra cuffs still circled her wrists, bandages holding together the minced skin underneath.

"No, unless you're really looking for me to take a carpentry saw to it." Madara said flatly, glancing at the metal rings. He had studied them briefly when he and Deidara had scooped Saezuri up, and quickly concluded that any effort he put into removing them would damage Sae's wrist so badly that it wouldn't function any longer.

"At this point, I'm ready to do almost anything." Sae let her arms drop, instead wrapping them around Madara's waist in a whimsical hug. "Can't you use your sharingan?"

"That's dangerous." Madara pulled back from her, "If I try and phase the metal off, it could end up solidifying inside your wrist, or worse, taking it off." Seeing her determined expression Madara sighed, red surfacing in his eyes.

"Try?" Sae held her arm up for him, studying his eyes. It had been quite a while since she had seen his doujutsu; she liked the way his eyes looked under the sharingan.

"Be very, very still." He cautioned her, delicately holding the cuff between his index finger and thumb, just so, that it didn't touch any part of her skin. Sae locked her arm and watched his sharingan take a quarter of a turn, Madara swiftly pulling his arm back. The cuff passed through her wrist harmlessly, a slight tingling jolting its way up her arm. Curiously, Saezuri rotated her wrist as Madara let the cuff drop to the floor with a metallic ting. Sae offered her other arm, Madara taking the cuff off after a long moment of concentration.

"Thank you." Saezuri said as she delicately touched her wrists, re-wrapping the bandages more securely.

"Let's go find Deidara and get this started." Madara intoned, picking up his mask from where he had tossed it carelessly. Saezuri caught his arm before he could clasp it on, kissing him warmly.

"These ANBU better not give me a hard time for the ring." She whispered a hairsbreadth from his lips, a threat of annoyance underlying her expression as she looked up at him. Madara merely chuckled, giving her one last peck before putting on the mask, his Akatsuki cloak following. Saezuri fixed her own around her shoulders, flipping the hood up as she followed the Uchiha out the door.

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"Why are you splitting from us, yet again, hmm?" Deidara asked, glancing across the way at Saezuri, her hands gripping at the neck of the clay dragon she was riding.

"I have something I need to pick up." She replied vaguely, surveying the land below.

"Kaaa? Are you sure you aren't betraying us?" His tone turned surely, enough so that Sae turned and gave him a dubious look, her expression irritated.

"Why would I leave being this injured and my chakras still low? Don't be stupid." She snorted, ignoring Deidara's arrogant scoff as he turned back forward.

"Fire Country, Sae-chan." Tobi piped up, pointing to the land below as the vegetation morphed from a living forest into dwindling trees, bare and dead.

"Aa, got it. I'll catch up to you later." She touched Tobi's shoulder briefly before summoning Sen, the large bird shreeing loudly as he dropped into the air. His large wings snapped out as he teetered on an uncertain current, Sae leaping from the clay dragon onto his back. She landed with a wince but seated herself into his feather firmly, gripping a handful as the falcon veered downward and to the left. The trees whipped past as Sen lowered into them, taking great banking turns to avoid the massive trunks.

"There?" The bird called over the wind, tipping towards the black figure in the distance. Saezuri huddled down so she could barely see over the dome of Sen's head as the bird approached, landing with a practiced run.

"Zetsu-san?" Sae's head shot up when she recognized the man, the flytrap around his head cracking open.

"Saezuri-san." The white side greeted, while the black merely licked his lips, yellow eye glowing. Sae dismounted off of Sen, dirt getting into the cheap civilian sandals Madara had picked up for her. "The ring." He held out a white hand, fingers bony and long. Sae picked the jewelry off his palm carefully, looking over the ring curiously.

"But why-"

"Konoha ANBU took Kakuzu. I figured I would salvage his ring at least, I know how Tobi likes them." The nin spoke precisely as he started to sink into the ground, flytrap inching closed. Saezuri bewilderedly nodded as Zetsu disappeared, turning back to Sen and climbing up onto his back.

"Kakuzu?" She glanced at the ring, the metal shining under the sun. She thought of the dark man, finding it nearly ironic she had retrieved the ring of the member that had hated her the most in Akatsuki. "This was surprisingly painless." Sae commented to Sen, the bird whistling as he took off once more.

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Thoughts? Sasuke next chapter! (:


	26. Chapter 26

Sorry for the delay~  
Let me just say, hooomygoodness, the last manga chapter with Kisame and Madara in the past had me drooling and making incomprehensible girl noises.

Thanks for the reviews, as always. I love you guys.

Enjoy.

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"Sae-chan!" Tobi called delightfully into the air as he opened his arms wide, watching Sen approach. With a muffled _bouf_ the bird disappeared, Saezuri falling into his outstretched grip; she landed into his chest soundly, the feel of his torso solid under her shoulder and cheekbone. "Have a nice trip?" Tobi tittered, carefully setting her onto her feet as he glanced back towards where Deidara was just landing his dragon.

"Zetsu beat me there." She kept her voice low, catching Madara's left hand and dropping the ring into his palm. His mask tilted down as he looked at the piece, studying the ring briefly as his other hand caught Saezuri's wrist before she could retract her hand.

"Hold onto it." He tilted his head as he slipped the band over her left thumb, Sae blinking as she pulled back her arm.

"Why?" She cocked a brow at him, nearly leaving the ground in surprise when Deidara's hand clapped onto her shoulder.

"We have company, Tobi." The bomber snarled irritably, throwing his arm towards the faint clearing in the distance, "Now help me set up before he notices us."

"Yes sir!" Tobi saluted, clacking his heels together as Deidara's eyebrow twitched. Shaking it off, the blonde glanced towards the clearing with a smug grin, his teeth reflecting faintly from the sunlight filtering through the leaves. Climbing back onto his dragon, he set his hands into the pouches on his hips as Tobi took Saezuri's hand, her hair whipping when the dragon beat its wings and launched into the sky. "Let's go meet the baby Uchiha, Saezuri." Madara's sharingan glowed from behind his mask when he glanced at her, Sae easily realizing that he was smiling. She followed him through the trees, catching sight of a figure standing deathly still in the middle of the field.

"Who's there?" Saezuri didn't recognize the voice of the boy in the clearing as she tip-toed to see better over Madara's shoulder, his stilled form stopping them at the edge of the clearing. Sae saw bits of Itachi in his face, remembering that he had a little brother. She barely paid attention to Tobi's ramblings, instead looking at Sasuke's tensed form and waiting for a reaction cautiously. Before he could attack, however, Deidara dropped from the sky, joining them through the smoke of his detonated bombs.

"You." Sasuke jerked his chin up at her, his sharingan drilling into Sae's calm expression, "I recognize you. You were with my brother that day."

"What of it?" She asked, watching his rising anger. It was puzzling, his clenched fist and obviously tight jaw enough to set her on edge.

"Where is Itachi?" Sasuke's eyes slimmed when Saezuri merely blinked, her eyes traveling upwards a fraction.

"I wouldn't know." She recoiled when the young Uchiha lurched forward, striking out in a sprint towards the three of them. Tobi immediately grabbed her elbow and pulled her back, Sae losing her balance as her heels skid across the ground. Deidara leapt out of the way, Sae blinking rapidly when she felt a shimmering sensation in her stomach. Tobi made gurgling and retching noises, grabbing his mid-section and reaching out a feeble hand as Sasuke flew past them.

"Pssst, play dead Sae-chan~" Tobi whispered-yelled to her from where he was collapsed on the ground, sitting up when she just cocked her head at him, "Aw, you're no fun. You have to play along, play along!" He waved his hands exasperatedly, screaming shrilly when he unexpectedly smacked a few of the small bombs littering the air from Deidara. Saezuri held the back of her head and flew down into a crouch as Tobi squirmed away on the ground, fully expecting Deidara to set them off.

"_Move_!" The bomber snarled at them, Sasuke falling on him just as explosions racked the forest. Tobi squalled as he scrambled up to his knees, Sae shifting back onto her feet. The smell of fresh dirt and sulfur hung in the air as she glanced around, her nose burning as she sought out the two fighting nin.

"Senpaiiiiiii!" Tobi cried, Saezuri tempted to kick his bowed head in contempt.

"Shut _up_, un." Deidara said as he landed with a skid near them, his skin sullied with soot but otherwise unharmed, "Saezuri, you may want to leave. I'm not holding back." Blue glinted sinisterly as Deidara leveled his eyes at her, holding his hands near his chest.

"Oooo, he's right Sae-chan." Tobi quipped as he leaned over the blonde's shoulder, looking at what had come out of his palms. Saezuri said nothing, instead nodding once as she moved to summon a falcon. "Hey, wait!" Tobi held up a finger, his mask tilting up, "I'll send a clone with you~"

"Is that necessary?" Sae asked as she touched her hand, the duplicate that appeared of Tobi enough of an answer.

"Save your blood." A Tobi moved forward and smacked her hands apart, grabbing onto her cheeks, "Tobi will take care of you." He baby talked her, Sae's descending eyebrows causing his eye to lift in a smile.

"Get off before I beat you off." She said flatly, Tobi flying back and raising his hands for peace.

"Hey, hey, alright." He turned to look over his shoulder at Deidara and his original form, "We'll be going!" He chirped to them, hiking Saezuri onto his back and loping into the woods. She hooked her arms around his neck, his bouncing gait enough to make her grit her teeth.

"...What are you doing?" Sae asked when he started to slow, setting her onto her feet after a moment.

"This is far enough. I'll take us somewhere comfortable." He spoke normally, grabbing her hand just as he warped. Sae's senses tripped momentarily when she realized she was somewhere dark, her eyesight adjusting quickly. She glanced around the stone room, obviously underground, taking in the Uchihan banners draped over the walls.

"Hey, Madara-clone, you can warp too?" She asked, reaching out and pressing on his cheek as he took off his mask. Amused black eyes stared back at her, Sae curiously noting that his skin was warm and plush, unlike a clone's normally chilled composition.

"I'm not the clone." He grinned, his teeth like pearls in the dim lighting.

"Are you sure it's okay to leave Deidara?" She blinked, watching him toss his mask onto a nearby table and whirl his cloak off his shoulders.

"He's a competent shinobi. Whatever happens between him and Sasuke doesn't matter, either way I get to keep a valuable asset." He glanced at her, quirking a brow, "I didn't know you liked Deidara so much as to worry about him."

"I got used to him. It'll be a shame if he's gone." Sae shrugged, glancing at her hand, "Here, do you want this?" She slipped off the ring on her thumb, holding it out curiously. Madara shook his head, moving forward and slipping it back onto her hand.

"Keep it." His words were heavy with extra meaning, black eyes light as he stared at her. Seeing that she didn't understand, he touched her neck and leaned in, "You're taking Kakuzu's place."

"What?" Sae asked, her eyes opening up more. She looked at the ring and back to Madara, watching him wink a quick eye at her.

"Welcome to the Organization, Saezuri." He spoke amusedly, sitting at the desk in the room; Sae dithered a moment, before moving towards the battered doorway.

"Is there a kitchen here?" She asked as she touched a hand to the wall, waiting on the threshold.

"Go left." Madara pointed minutely as he lifted up his leg, slipping his sandal off. Saezuri nodded, walking down the dim hallway. She paused when she spotted an old bloodstain on the cement wall, blinking before moving on. The first door she looked into had an assortment of old cots, the bedding made out of rich material despite the lack of ornamentation in the rest of the base. She passed more rooms, none of them having anything resembling a kitchen. Sae wandered through three more hallways before finally finding a stove, exhaling quietly in triumph. She riffled through the cabinets, finding old, horribly stale provisions. She recoiled when a sizable rat scurried out of a burlap rice bag, watching the creature run across the cement floor- quickly a small feline leapt out of a discarded basket in a corner of the kitchen, biting through the rat's neck with a small mewl. Shaking her head, Saezuri stood and opened an overhead cabinet, finding an ornately carved tea box. Taking it down, she set it on the stove and looked through it, pulling out a pouch of jasmine tea. Opening the drawstring, she smelled the contents, deducing that it was still in good condition and safe.

"Mrowww, " She paused when she heard the cat again, turning enough to see it sitting on the table, looking at her with crystal green eyes. It licked its chops, quirking its whiskers when she met its eyes.

"I suppose you're hungry." She saw that it had left the rat, and briefly wondered whether it could even eat it. Seeing the thin composition of the cat she supposed not, and turned to the cupboards again; after searching some she found jerky that looked somewhat safe, and tossed it on the table. Seeing the cat start to pick at it she found a tea kettle and set it on the stove, forming a set of handseals.  
Ending with Horse, she leaned over her steepled fingers and blew a careful stream of water from her lips, filling the pot. She ended the jutsu, pausing when she realized that the stove needed an actual fire. Finding a box of matches, Sae picked at the burlap bag of rice the rat had come from with her index and thumb finger, tearing the material into strips with an old kunai. Lighting the material, Sae carefully made tea, glancing at the cat all the while, watching it finish the jerky. Setting the kettle and two fine-made cups onto a tray, she dusted her hands and turned to the cat.

"You're coming with me." She advanced carefully, pursing her lips when it jumped off the table and skittered away from her, staring at her with accusing green eyes. Clapping her hands together softly, Sae made a simple illusion clone, the cat hissing at her doubled appearance. "Oh, no you don't." She said as her clone leapt to block the entrance, the cat backing away quickly from her fake self. Using a simple diversion, Sae caught the cat as it was occupied with her clone that was making threatening gestures. Saezuri held the squirming cat still for a few seconds, waiting until it calmed down some to stroke its gray fur, tabby stripes adorning its pelt. Hooking the cat under her arm, she picked up the tray and set to returning to Madara, tracking her steps back.

"Tea?" She spoke as she walked back into the room, Madara raising his eyebrows at the cat hanging over her forearm, staring out with ornery eyes. Saezuri set the tray down, before setting the cat on the floor, its whiskers twitching as it sniffed the cement cautiously.

"You managed to find tea?" Madara asked with a dubious tone, staring into the cup he had poured himself, watching the faint ripples in the liquid with an uncertain face, "You do realize that this base has been abandoned for a good seventy years?"

"It seemed fine." Sae shrugged, watching the cat, "Will this guy grow up to be a nin cat?" She looked up to see Madara sipping from his cup, his brows raising higher as he set it on the table.

"Surprisingly, it does taste fine." He shifted from where he was sitting, looking at the cat, "Feel behind his ears. If the muscles there are developing to be larger than a normal cat's, then it means he could be trained."

"They definitely feel different." Sae said as she touched the cat, his ears laying flat in irritation. "That means that the nin cats can rebuild themselves, right?" She asked, her voice light as she expectantly looked at Madara.

"Doesn't matter." He shrugged, turning back to the desk he was seated at, a scroll of his rolled out on the surface.

"You don't care?" Sae rose from her crouch, tilting her head minutely in confusion.

"Uchiha is dead. There is no use for nin cats anymore." Madara flatly said, looking at her as if it was obvious.

"Well I'm training him." Sae retorted, irritated when Madara said nothing to her, only waving a flippant hand as he turned his attention back to his scroll. Easing off her frustration, Saezuri moved to look over his shoulder, seeing a diagram of bijuu, "What is this?" She asked, her hair tickling the side of his face as she leaned closer.

"It represents the sealing statue." He raised his hand to thread through her hair by her other ear, twirling a bit around his thumb absently, "It's getting out of balance, I need to wrap this all up soon. See this here?" He pointed to the left arm of the diagram, "This side has more power than the right, if it's not fixed soon the whole statue will crumble apart."

"Oh." Sae murmured, somewhat seeing what Madara was pointing out. His handwriting was ornate and hard to read, but she could see what spaces were filled in and what ones were still blank.

"I need to make a visit to Ame soon." He let his hand drop from her hair, picking up his brush and dabbing in a spot on the scroll, "And correct some of this. We'll go tomorrow."

"Alright." Sae smoothed back, pouring herself a cup of the tea. She paused in raising it to her lips when Madara stilled, his gaze unfocusing for a moment.

"Well. Seems that Deidara was bested." He said, rubbing his forehead briefly. He glanced up at Sae, watching her contemplate it.

"How are you going to win Sasuke over?" She asked as she flicked her eyes down, setting her untouched cup back on the tray. Madara only hummed bemusedly, a small smirk lifting his lips.

"With sympathy, my dear." He said as his eyelids descended over his eyes.

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Review please!


	27. Chapter 27

Kisame. ;-; 

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"Help me name him." Saezuri looked up at Madara from where she was sitting cross-legged on the floor, the kitten held in her lap.

"It doesn't matter what his name is. Furthermore, do you even have any idea of how to train a ninja animal?" He smirked, propping his elbow on the desk corner and leaning forward. Sae pursed her lips and said nothing, turning back to stroke the cat.

"We'll name you 'Itsu', I guess." She tapped the kitten's nose, aware of Madara's quiet snort.

"That makes him sound pitiful and weak." He spoke, amused by the dark look Sae shot him.

"Well you wanted nothing to do with it, so you're just going to have to deal with Itsu." The cat tumbled off her lap, batting at a tassel on the fringe of the rug on the floor. He settled and started gnawing on it as he looked up at Sae with glittering green eyes, cracking a small smile from her. Madara sighed as he watched, before standing with a stretch.

"Come with me." He beckoned, waiting in the doorway as Saezuri stood. She took his hand as he turned right, walking with purpose; a few hallways over, Madara pushed open a heavy stone door and grabbed a torch off the wall. "Spare me some chakra." He squeezed Sae's hand briefly.

"What is this?" She gestured with her free hand as she channeled a flow of chakra into her held hand, feeling it gather. Madara said nothing, merely blowing a stream of fire and lighting the torch, sapping the chakra from Sae's hand. When Madara held up the torch, light was thrown on a storeroom, wooden chests and tables laden with supplies coming into view.

"Find yourself a weapon, considering Iwa has probably destroy your katana out of spite or reissued it." He set the torch into its holder onto the wall as he spoke, shadowing Saezuri as she stepped further into the room.

"There's so much here." She said with a small grain of wonderment, kneeling by a chest and riffling through a stack of clothing, all made out of shinobi-grade material, "Why was this never used?" She looked up to Madara as he crossed his arms and leaned against a support pillar.

"This was one of the Uchiha's last strongholds before the fall. There never was time." He explained, shrugging. Saezuri paused at the offhanded way he spoke of it, before turning back to the clothing. She left it a moment later, seeing that it was all men's, and moved to a table. She picked up a sickle and tested swinging it, alienated by the way it cut through the air. Looking over various nunchucks and tanto-like blades, she sighed.

"Saezuri." Madara caught her attention, tossing a katana to her. He had two others held in his arms as he moved towards her, watching her draw the sword.

"It's too heavy." She complained, used to the featherweight of her last katana. Madara shrugged and took it back from her, handing her a different sword. The tassels tied to the guard swung as she took it from the sheath, swinging it experimentally. "Maybe." She set it on the table behind her and she took the last one from Madara, immediately offset by its short length. Testing it anyway, she shook her head quickly, not liking it.

"There we are. We'll take that one," He nodded towards the one she had set to the side, "to a swordsmith and have it balanced correctly again." He took the two katana she had refused and set them into holders on the wall while Saezuri set about to find a belt to hold her katana. She found a black one, fastening it around her waist and hooking the sword into it.

"It feels good to have that there again." She patted the hilt, before slipping off the civilian sandals. An assortment of boots were pressed against the far wall, most of which she saw were small.

"You may not fit into any of those." Madara said, watching her try and shove her foot into a boot, "Only children wore boots back then."

"And why is that?" Sae huffed, glancing up at him from her seat on the floor.

"The forest has plenty of things to trip over." He chuckled, a small, devious glint in his eyes, "It was just tradition to give boots to learning shinobi. Sandals were a sort of coming to age."

"Why does it seem as if there's more to it than that?" Saezuri asked, observing his amused form. She threw the boot she had had back with the rest, watching Madara shift.

"It started when I very first took control. There was a boy called Yuuta, who must have trashed about seven low-level missions because he always got his sandals caught." He laughed charmingly, a distant look on his face, "He was only nine, so I made the order that all of the young shinobi had to wear boots until I decided that they were skilled enough to not be so clumsy."

"You made all the kids wear these because of one boy?" Sae held up a boot in example, shaking it for emphasis, "That seems a little overboard."

"Yuuta was ambushed many times by his age-mates because of it." Madara smirked as he looked down, "It was amusing, to say the least."

"Cruelty." Saezuri tsked, grabbing the largest pair she could find. They fit snugly, though they were shorter on her legs than what she was accustomed to.

"No, not cruelty." Madara's eyes glowed with cunning, "He became one of my top advisers when he was grown, simply because the ambushes taught him a skill none of the others learned."

"And that skill is?" Sae cocked a brow as she stood, maneuvering her feet to get the feel of the boots.

"Escapism." He shrugged, "By the time he was twelve, I never saw the boy get caught. He always duped his pursuers, friend or foe."

"Well." She blinked, "I guess that's one way to go about training someone."

"He gave me a formal thank-you years later, after he gained his sandals." Madara chuckled, "And after that, the boots simply became tradition."

"Anyway, thank goodness that there were large kids. These fit perfectly." Sae turned, walking out of the storeroom, "Are we leaving early in the morning?"

"Aa. I'm thinking around sun-up." He followed her out, taking the lead down the hall into what were obviously personal quarters.

"How large was the clan, back then?" Saezuri questioned as door after door went by, Uchiha fans decorating most of them. They were faded and chipped, but an obvious testament to the former prestige they held.

"A small village." Madara quipped, turning the handles of a set of french doors, "At one point we had over a hundred and fifty active shinobi."

"All Uchiha?" She asked, blinking.

"All Uchiha." He nodded, "With their families behind them, it was an even larger number. We had to split between two compounds just to house us all." Madara glanced at her with a small quirk to his lips at her curiosity, lighting a kerosine lamp with a flick of his wrist and a match. The room was obviously meant for the head of the clan, silken bedding and ornate furniture decorating the room. Saezuri sat on the traditional futon, taking the boots off and unbelting her sword, laying it carefully on the floor. She waited while Madara settled next to her, stripping off his black turtleneck and pushing a hand through his hair, lightening its set across his forehead.

"Don't trim this." Sae said as she touched his bangs, the strands starting to lay over his cheekbone. He quirked a brow at her, smoothing an easy hand over the back of her head.

"Then don't cut your own, either. I like it long." He met her eyes, holding her gaze effortlessly as she pursed her lips, annoyed.

"Fine. But only once yours get as long as mine, then I'll leave it." She tilted her head coyly, knowing she had caught him. It would take months upon months for his to reach his collarbones as hers did.

"We've a deal." Madara flicked her nose lightly as he pulled back, ignoring her flinch as he lay on his back, pulling up the covers.

"I forgot Itsu." Saezuri realized just as she moved to lay down, instead starting to stand to go collect the kitten. Madara, however, caught her wrist, pulling her just right to cause her to lose balance, landing on her hip with a roll and falling into his side.

"He's a ninja cat, for god sake." Madara gave her a dubious look, all the while grabbing her elbows and setting her more comfortably on his chest.

"Was that really necessary?" Sae asked flatly just as he whistled, a soft sound that barely registered with her. "Like he's going to hear that." She tsked, propping her chin in her palms and looking into his face. Madara just blinked a lazy pair of eyes at her, his lids settling lower.

"If he doesn't learn, he doesn't learn. Are you going to go walking around enemy territory with a shrieking call just because you refused to push his potential?" He snorted, grinning when Saezuri pushed his chest and rolled over, turning her back to him. She lay in silence for long minutes, before sighing and shifting, turning back. Sae propped her head up on her elbow, gaining Madara's attention as his eyes moved to hers in question.

"Mewwwrr~" Itsu chimed just as he slunk into the room, eyes and whiskers held to attention as he sought Saezuri out. She stirred in surprise, lifting her head up and patting the blankets over them, beckoning Itsu closer. She watched the gray tabby curl into the hollow behind her bent knees, Madara's lips quirking when she glanced back to him.

"I suppose I should say sorry." Sae said softly, watching his expression. When he chuckled she grinned lightly, kissing the corner of his mouth before laying her head on his chest, slipping an arm around him and hooking her leg up over his, curling into him comfortably. Madara set his arm around her shoulders, content as he closed his eyes.

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Review?


	28. Chapter 28

Yeah. I have zero time still, but here you guys go.

Greedy little readers.

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"Saezuri." Madara touched her still sleeping face, tapping gently under her chin with a firm hand. He watched her lashes flutter open, her dark eyes dull as she focused on him blearily.

"Mm-time?" She stirred, her eyebrows lifting up as her eyes fought to close again. Madara smiled, chuckling softly as he withdrew. Sae sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes as she took a more in-depth look at him, noticing he was already dressed and quite awake.

"Get ready." Madara shook his head bemusedly, grabbing the hand she offered him and pulling her to her feet easily. Saezuri moved and collected her katana, belting it on before slipping her feet into her boots. Just as she was fastening her Akatsuki cloak on Madara caught her hand, preventing her from closing it over her chest. He wrapped a plush, red scarf around her neck, looping it skillfully to stay put.

"Is Ame cold?" Sae raised a brow as she finished the snaps on her cloak, laying the material over the scarf so that it didn't bunch and irritate her neck.

"Ame isn't where we're going first." He said as he wrapped an identical scarf around his own neck, Saezuri noticing an embroidered Uchiha fan in the middle of the material. She reached back and touched the nape of her neck, feeling the threads of the symbol on her own scarf. "We're going to a swordsmith." Madara elaborated as he offered his hand to her, Sae's gut clenching as soon as she laid her fingers in his. Her face smarted from the drop in temperature as they landed calf-deep in snow, the landscape blinding white around them; following after Madara, she quickly noticed a small settlement etched out into the snow, smoke raising from the chimneys.

"Why come way out here?" Saezuri asked as they entered one of the buildings, swiping a hand over her hair to brush off the few snowflakes that had landed there.

"He's one of the best." Was all Madara replied with just as an old man came from a back room, his hair white and cropped short.

"Visitors!" He came forward with a small limp in his gait, clapping his hands together, "How can I help you?" He peered at them, taking in their matching cloaks. Saezuri pulled up the right flap of hers, unclasping the sheath of the katana from her belt and handing it to him. The old man took it carefully from her hands, running his gnarled fingers over the guard. He took it to a nearby table, setting the weapon onto two holders that held it suspended.

"We need it restored." Madara spoke, watching the smith look at the katana.

"My, this is a quality blade. Quite an antique, if I'm correct." He turned enough to meet Saezuri's gaze, "Where did you get this, young'un?"

"It's... been passed down in my family." She finally settled on, unable to think of anything else that would be plausible. Sae glanced at Madara, watching him shrug his shoulders at her carelessly. The smith picked up the katana and drew the blade, looking at the steel with an expert eye.

"Personal engraving, too." He pointed out the kanji etched near the hilt, the black paint that had once been set into the steel chipping away in an unsightly way. Saezuri squinted at it, unable to read what it said. "I do believe it says 'Uchiha'." He twisted his wrist to see the opposite side of the metal, taking in the fan etched there, and seemingly realizing the connection, "Your family...is descendants of the Uchiha?" The smith's eyebrows raised far up his forehead as he looked at Saezuri, her gaze turning sullen.

"Just restore it, please." She said, turning to look at the various weapons hung on the wall next to her. The man caught sight of the fan on the nape of her neck, swiveling his gaze to Madara in question. He only waved a flippant hand at the smith, the old man clamping the blade into a press.

"You would like it to be shined to look acceptable, no?" He asked while he started re-balancing the weight of the katana, as Saezuri turned back to him and caught his eye.

"No, I will not be using it for decoration." She tilted her head down a fraction, "I am a shinobi. That," She pointed at the blade, "is going to be my new weapon. I need it properly tuned and fixed." She watched the old man pause, his gaze re-evaluating her.

"Quite a delicate thing for a shinobi." He commented good-naturedly as he started to buff the sheath with a polishing rag.

"Trust me, she has _quite_ an impressive bite." Madara stepped in, smirking towards Saezuri as she sighed.

"Oh, I bet. Wielding this has to take a certain amount of finesse." The smith said as he laid more ink into the engravings, the kanji showing boldly as he wiped away the excess. Bringing out tools that Saezuri didn't understand, he started tweaking at the foundation of the katana, scraping old dust from many of the crevices, and laying a thick coat of a paste where the hilt connected to the blade. Taking a stone to the steel, the smith honed down the cutting edge. After nearly an hour he finally presented the finished blade to Saezuri, gesturing for her to test it. First studying the renewed silk wrappings on the hilt, she closed her hand around it, testing a sideways slash that would have been meant to behead. Satisfied, she flicked her hand and reversed her hold with a flourish, letting the sword slip inside its polished sheath with a sharp clack.

"It's wonderful, thank you." Sae directed at the smith as she lifted up the flap of her cloak, attaching the katana to her belt once more all the while Madara counted out a decent sum of money, the smith taking it with a tiny bow.

"Shall we?" Madara gestured towards the door, Saezuri laying her hand into his warm one as they left the shop, freezing air immediately nipping at Sae's face. The newly risen sun nearly blinded her, reflecting off the snow all around- it was a drastic change when she felt Madara squeeze her hand minutely, the two of them landing on a metal floor inside a dark building.

"Where is this?" Sae asked as she kept on following him up a small flight of stairs, her eyes adjusting to the dim light.

"Ame." Madara's answer was short as he pushed open a tall door that glided on well-oiled hinges, Saezuri behind him as she tugged on the hood of her cloak, bringing it up over her light hair.

"Greetings." Konan's quiet voice met their ears as Madara and Sae stepped inside; her eyes immediately met Saezuri's, both curious and guarded.

"Pein, Konan." Madara acknowledged as he casually strode into the room further, "To get to business, the nine-tails jinchuuriki is maturing. Quickly. I want it taken care of."

"Pein has never lost a battle." Konan input, drawing Sae's gaze away from Pein's back.

"Heh, be that as it may, I still want you to take precautions. Both of you." Madara moved, muscles like silk under his cloak, "Have the rest of Akatsuki speed themselves up, too. The nine-tails has to be sealed last."

"It's under control." Pein spoke, his deep voice resonating faintly. Saezuri curiously regarded him, her gaze met by his pale eyes. She merely tipped her head slightly, face expressionless as Madara stepped up onto the platform that opened to the drowsy Ame skies.

"Soon, this goose chase will all be over. My sharingan will finally be accomplished." He spoke, holding his hand out for Saezuri in a dominant way. Her eyes flicked to him as she laid her fingertips into his palm, finding it to be colder than what she had come to recognize as the norm, "Until next time." Madara said to the pair, Sae taking his que as he tensed minutely, jumping at the same time as he. She tightened her grip on his hand as they dropped, landing with a harsh smack into the damp street just as more rain began to fall.

"This is miserable." Saezuri spoke as she followed after Madara's swift stride, stretching her legs to keep up as her cloak made a noise of protest, "I don't know why anyone would chose to stay here."

"It's tradition, my dear. If cold is all you've known, how could you fathom that there's warmth out in the world?" Madara peeked back at her, his face neutral under his mask.

"Don't they send their shinobi out at all?" Sae mumbled briefly, her head ducking as she tugged on the hood to her cloak, keeping it smooth over her hair. Madara chuckled lowly as he reached back for her arm, catching it with a firm hold. Mid-stride, Sae's stomach dropped as she stepped forward onto uneven ground, a summer haven in front of her. Grass snapped as Madara shifted, letting go of her as his sharingan faded from his one visible eye.

"Ame's shinobi force stays within their boundaries, mostly. Only the select elite get sent outside their borders, and that's mainly the special forces in times of intense threat." Madara picked at a tall piece of wild wheat, crushing the plant's kernels between his thumb and forefinger, "They're a very secluded nation. Which is why they're so perfect for a base of operations. Akatsuki will never be discovered by a mere accident."

"Where are we now?" Sae diverted, glancing around at the vegetation. Between long strands of grass and various wild crops, the field was a sea of waist-high tendrils, swayed by the wind.

"Fire country."

"Your homeland." Sae pinned her gaze on his tall form, watching his reaction carefully. Madara reached up and removed his mask, revealing calm eyes and soft mouth.

"Aa, my homeland. Am I not allowed a tinge of nostalgia?" He questioned her, tucking the mask inside his shirt into its customary spot. Saezuri faltered, settling on merely glancing away and at the surroundings.

"It's beautiful here." She spoke after an easy silence, redeeming the slight sense of guilt weighing on her nerves. Madara hummed in agreement as he waded through the grass, Sae eyeing his back. Seeing his relaxed shoulders and nonchalant manner, she crouched slightly, using chakra to skip forward quickly. A rush of wind swept back the hood from her head as she drew her sword, hitting onto Madara's armguard as he twisted and defended himself.

"Sparring?" He cocked an arrogant brow at her, tensing his arm with a violent clench at her snicker. Sae fell back at his jerky movement, using her spine as a spring as she rolled to the ground. Grass crinkled as she leapt back to her feet, swooping her katana around with a clean movement, the metal silent through the air. Madara jumped, pulling his knees up with ease as the blade passed under him, his large hand reaching out for the crown of Saezuri's head. His fingertips just skimmed her skin as she darted away from his swipe, Sae sheathing her katana as she tackled him. Madara humored her as she crashed into him, letting them both fall to the ground.

"I win." Saezuri's mouth stretched into a cat's grin as she wiggled, landing herself across his chest with a delicate flop. Madara just glanced down at her, lifting up onto his elbow enough so that she fell into his lap.

"If that's what you call winning, I'd hate to see what an enemy would do in this position." His voice was colored with subtle humor as he kept his expression straight, picking Saezuri off of him. She sat back onto her heels as he stood, fluffing out the few bits of grass caught in his short hair. Sae's hand shot out and nipped a blade of grass from his shirt in a swift movement as she rose to her own feet with a small huff.

"It's a wonder your sarcasm hasn't gotten you killed yet." She remarked, watching his gaze cut to her sullenly.

"Even if someone wanted to, I would have them beat. It's just how the world works." His reply made Sae snort, her nose wrinkling minutely as she kicked at a lump of sod that was uplifted.

"Whatever you say." She murmured, his quiet chuckle enough to end the conversation.

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Thoughts?


	29. Forever Hiatus

I can't continue this story. I'm so sorry.

The reason being that I can't stand to read the manga anymore- I haven't even looked at it in over three months, and I have no plan to do so.  
I'm afraid Saezuri will never see an ending.

Thank you, all my loyal readers and reviewers. It was a joy while it lasted.


	30. Surprise!

An update;

I know I said I would forever leave this story unfinished.  
However, being life, a lot of things have changed. As for the personal life of this writer, it must not be interesting.

I stopped writing because my personal relationships and experiences got stagnant. Things stalled, got dull, became meaningless.  
In the past month that has all been upheaved. These past weeks I have loved, I have been in danger, I have been betrayed, I have been happy, I ahve been obligated, I have been despondent. I've been through it all, and now, at this point of extreme unstability, I am ready to write again.

And update is not forthcoming- BUT. I am going through and re-reading every scrap of information I have written on this. I am taking long pages of notes, refreshing every detail. How embarrassing, that most of you readers have more knowledge about this than the lady who created it all. I am going to take this back into hand and sculpt it, and actually create a sufficent ending for this.  
Saezuri is still alive within me. She may have taken a backseat, slept all these long months, but she's now knocking around my mind once again, albeit slowly.

I will finish this.


End file.
